


Amato Animo Animato Animagus

by cantina



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Animagus, M/M, Patronus, Patronus Charm, a little bit of background muffy, animagus au, cece is head of slytherin and bex is head of gryffindor, i still love the theory that she and tj are related, i'm a sucker for secret over-the-top ultra dramatic lovestruck idiot tj, oof i forgot to add background ambi, so they're twins here, they're all sixth years, yes even amber
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-08-11 23:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20161531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cantina/pseuds/cantina
Summary: "Hey, TJ!" The Slytherin turned back around, tilting his head in questioning. Cyrus took a few steps closer so he could be better heard. "Um." Now that he had the boys attention, he wasn't entirely sure what to say. TJ raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"Cyrus said the first thing that came to mind. "Do you think you could teach me? To be an animagus, I mean."AKA, the Hogwarts animagus au





	1. The 3rd to the 14th of October

**Author's Note:**

> so i guess me saying i wasn't going to write anymore andi mack was a phat lie because theres now this, the beginnings of a triwizard tournament au taking place in my notes, and i'm also considering writing a companion piece to aftermath from tj's perspective if anyone would be interested in those sksks

**3rd October**

Cyrus could not sleep.

It had just gone midnight and his mind had been wide awake since he'd first gotten into bed, a little over three hours prior. He desperately needed to rest too, as it was a Monday morning, meaning that he would have to be up early for 8 am Transfiguration, and he really could not afford to be sleepy in Professor Mack's class. She had senses like a hippogriff, and could pick up on the smallest deviation in attention from a mile away.

It was especially irritating becaude he couldn't figure out _ why. _ He wasn't prone to insomnia. He had been back at Hogwarts for over a month now, so any homesickness he might have had would have worn off ages ago. Also, he was in his sixth year, meaning that not only was he used to boarding, he didn't have any OWLs or NEWTs to worry about. He wondered briefly if it had anything to do with Jonah's incessant snoring, but again, he had gotten used to it over the past 6 years, and it was white noise to him now. Strangely enough, he had actually found it harder to sleep back home without it during the summer.

Bar Jonah, the night was quiet, and surprisingly cold for early October. Cyrus was watching as a frost slowly crept over the window in his dormitory, getting gradually more and more bored, until he felt that if he didn't get up and do _ something _ he would explode. So being as careful as possible not to disturb the other boys in his dormitory, he slipped on his shoes and coat, cast a disillusionment charm, and crept out the door. He thanked Merlin that the stairs and floors in the Hufflepuff quaters were stone and therefore incapable of creaking, and also that they were carpeted so that his shoes weren't too loud against them. Cyrus headed for the lake, hoping that maybe a late night walk would help tire him out.

Outside, it was cloudless. Countless amounts of stars were visible in the sky, and Cyrus spent a few minutes tracing out the constellations that he'd learnt in Astronomy. The Milky Way arced over his head, and the full moon shone unobstructed, casting the grounds in dim light. It allowed Cyrus to navigate his way down to the lake shore without tripping. As he neared the edge of the water, he ended his spell, and felt the charm slipping off him like water off a ducks back. He shook his head a little; disillusionment always left him feeling funny.

The lake was beautiful, mirroring the starry sky above it with barely a ripple to distort the reflection. Cyrus walked slowly, taking his time to enjoy the peacefulness of the night. As he reached the half way point, he looked back across the water at the Hogwarts. He could barely make out the shape of the castle, an a ashy shadow against the inky darkness of the sky. There was only one window lit in the whole school, and he recognised it as Seer Brittany's room, the teacher of Divination. 

Cyrus smiled to himself at the thought. Although she was barely older than the seventh years, and by no means qualified enough to be a professor, Brittany was by far the most gifted prophetess the 21st century had seen. She was a little airheaded and shallow, and it was odd to both students and faculty alike that she had ever even accepted a teaching position. He remembered their first class with her, when she had taken over from the Madame Le Doux in their fifth year. Both Buffy and Andi had made a show of despair at their teacher; Andi because she had known Brittany since she was a child and so the teacher had made a point to tease her in class, and Buffy because of the lack of professionalism the seer had shown in her lessons. Put their moping together with Brittany's, uh, _ interesting _ personality, and the first few months of Divination had been hysterical to watch.

A warm feeling built up in his throat at the memories, in sharp contrast to the cold air around him. Hogwarts never failed to make him feel like this, a sort of disbelieving joy. Being raised muggle born had left him with a constant sense of awe for the magical world around him, and in moments like these it took his breath away. 

Cyrus continued on, walking a little faster to try and get some warmth back into his legs. A slight breeze had picked up, and he had begun to shiver because of it. About ten minutes before he reached the end of the path, a flash of white out the corner of his eye caught his attention. Cyrus stopped, looking around him, slightly apprehensive. Hogwarts was a school and a second home to him, but it was by no means safe from some of the more dangerous aspects of the magical world. But then he saw what had startled him, and he breathed a sigh of relief: it was simply a peacock. A beautiful albino peacock, but a peacock all the same. Although come to think of it, Cyrus couldn't remember there ever seeing muggle birds on Hogwarts grounds - even the owls here had a sort of unnatural awareness.

The bird strutted out of the treeline and down across the path. Cyrus had ended his disillusionment charm almost an hour ago, but it didn't seem to have noticed him all the same. It walked along in the direction of Hogwarts, and Cyrus decided to follow after it, being careful not to alert it to his presence and scare it off. It really was a gorgeous creature, practically glowing in the moonlight, and it's tail feathers dragged behind it like the train of a wedding dress. It held itself with a certain majesty, and regarded it's surroundings with the air of a king observing his domain. 

Just before the lakeside path turned off the go back up the hill to the castle the peacock stopped dead in it's tracks. It shook it's feathers out, fanning it's tail and then closing it up again. But when it pulled in it's tail for the third time, Cyrus was shocked to see that the peacock was nowhere in sight, and instead there was a boy standing ahead with his back to him. Although it was dark, Cyrus could still recognise the figure.

"TJ?" He called out, voice pitched high with surprise. The boy froze up, and then his head whipped around, gaze landing on him. "Cyrus?" TJ's face was a mixture of horror and disbelief . "What the fuck? What are you- how are you- why are you out here?" He hissed in frustration, striding over to where the Hufflepuff was standing still as a statue. Cyrus felt a similar immobility as the time Buffy had cast _petrificus totalus_ on him in third year, unable to move back from the Slytherin as he became increasingly angry with every step he took. There was barely an inch between them when TJ stopped, up in his personal space in an obvious attempt to intimidate him. Because TJ was nearly a foot taller and a hell of a lot more muscular than Cyrus, he took no shame in admitting to himself that the tactic worked.

"Sorry! I'm sorry!" Cyrus gasped, feeling a little breathless. Now was not the time to think about the fact that he'd had a tiny little crush on TJ since he'd won his first quidditch game back in fourth year. "I wasn't following you, and I didn't mean to see anything. I just couldn't sleep and I was really bored, and I've got Transfiguration with Mack at 8 this morning, so I thought maybe if I took a walk I'd tire myself out. And it kind of worked, but then I saw you, and, well it's kind of hard to ignore a white peacock in the middle of the night so I though 'oh I'll try not to scare it' but then it was you? And I was just really shocked because I've never seen an animagus transformation, or an animagus at all, and I didn't know you were an animagus and I'm really sorry." Cyrus hadn't taken a single breath throughout his whole explanation, and after he stopped he was breathing as heavily as the time Buckbeak III had charged him. TJ's took a little step back, his face clearing of his anger and taking on a little guilt. 

"Hey, alright, calm down. I believe you. It's just," he ran a hand through his hair, and Cyrus noticed that it was devoid of gel for the first time in six years and was now unbearably fluffy. "People don't really know I'm an animagus. I haven't actually registered yet, and Professor Mack was on my ass about it for the whole of fifth year. She seems to have forgotten about it now, but she'll give me hell if she finds out I'm still not on the list." Cyrus eyes widened. "Isn't that illegal though? I mean," he hastily backtracked at the look TJ gave him. "I'm not going to say anything. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble. But can I ask why?" Cyrus was as curious as people came, and a sucker for a good story. As much as he didn't like to admit it, he enjoyed listening to gossip around the castle, although he'd never go as far as to spread anything himself. TJ looked hesitant, and so Cyrus held up his hands. Luckily, TJ had put a little distance between them again, so he didn't end up accidentally hitting the seeker. "I don't mean to pry, you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to." TJ smiled a little at this. "I know. To be honest, it's not that big of a deal. I just couldn't be bothered." The first part made Cyrus roll his eyes, but the second made him snort. "Defying the law out of laziness? Wow TJ, who knew you were such an anarchist." 

They started walking back up towards the castle together, talking aimlessly about nothing in particular, and by the time they reach the doors Cyrus had forgotten all about his sleeping troubles. And wow, was this really happening? Was he actually talking to TJ Kippen, star of the Slytherin quidditch team and sixth year heartthrob, without doing something too embarrassing <strike>like throwing up in his shoe</strike>? He was laughing at something TJ said, his breath coming out in little puffs of condensation, and the seekers eyes were so clear they were all but glowing in the dark. Cyrus felt his giggling peter out as he stared at them. They were the kind of eyes it was easy to get lost in, a green labyrinth that overtook every though in Cyrus' head. And with TJ looking back at him, a small smile hanging around the corner of his lips, Cyrus felt something spark a little deeper in his heart.

Eventually TJ cleared his throat, looking away and breaking the spell he'd held Cyrus with. "I should probably head back. I don't want to get caught out, and if I fall asleep in Herbology tomorrow morning Walker will probably just put fertiliser in my hair again." Cyrus nodded. "Yeah, I would rather catch spattergroit than be tired in a lesson with Mack Senior." TJ grinned at this, whispered a goodnight, and turned away to take the corridor down to the Slytherin common room. 

Seeing him leave suddenly made Cyrus realise that this may be his only chance to really get to know TJ. Before then, he had been perfectly content crushing from afar, but the revelation by the lake and the fun he'd had talking on the way back up made him realise that he wanted to get closer to the Slytherin, as a friend. The chance of there ever being anything more between them seemed so slim Cyrus didn't even bother thinking about it, but it didn't matter. TJ was funny, and could keep up with Cyrus' sarcasm and didn't seem uninterested at the little facts he had peppered into the conversation. He had seemed genuinely interested in what Cyrus had to say, and so he was now determined to build a friendship between them. A little bubble of confidence made it's way up his throat, and emerged as a whispered shout. 

"Hey, TJ!" The Slytherin turned back around, tilting his head in questioning. Cyrus took a few steps closer so he could be better heard. "Um." Now that he had the boys attention, he wasn't entirely sure what to say. TJ raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Cyrus said the first thing that came to mind. "Do you think you could teach me? To be an animagus, I mean." TJ looked taken aback by his request. "You want _ me _ to help you become an animagus?" 

Cyrus felt a little silly all of a sudden, and tried to take it back. "I mean, it doesn't matter, if you're busy or don't want to or-" He stopped. TJ was shaking his head violently, and Cyrus was a little worried that it was about to fly off his shoulders. "No no no, that's not what I meant. I just- I'm surprised you want to spend more time with me. And I'm definetly not the best person to ask for help, especially not when your group is made up of some of the smartest people in our year." Cyrus grinned, relieved that TJ wasn't turning him down because he found him irritating or boring. "Of course I want to spend time with you! And yeah, Buffy and Iris could probably teach as well as any professor here, but neither of them are actually animagi. You _ are_. Besides, I don't think you're giving yourself nearly enough credit. Hardly anyone becomes an animagus, especially not at our age, and if not for Buffy, you would easily be the smartest person in Slytherin." TJ laughed at this, but not unkindly. "Yeah, Driscoll wiped the floor with me in OWLs, but I beat her to Seeker on the quidditch team so I call it even."

"So will you do it?" Cyrus asked, hopeful. TJ nodded. "Sure thing. Don't get your hopes up too much because I don't have a clue if I'll be any good, but I'll do my best to help you become an animagus." Cyrus' grinned brightly, and before he could stop to think about what he was doing, wrapped the Slytherin in a tight hug. He let go before TJ got the chance to reciprocate or shove him off, and with a quick "Thankyou!" he scurried off towards Hufflepuff, casting disillusionment as he went.

When he got back into bed ten minutes later, he slipped quickly into sleep, his subconscious filled with dreams of luminous green eyes and glowing white feathers.

* * *

The next morning dawned too bright and too early. Cyrus groaned and tried to bury his head under his pillow, but then Jonah was there, ripping his blankets away and talking at full speed about how he had heard from Gus who had heard from Connor who had heard from Kaitlin who had heard from the kitchen elves that there were going to be pancakes that morning so _ come on _ Cyrus, we have to leave _ now! _

The rumours proved true when the two of them sat down with their friends at the Hufflepuff table half an hour later. Cyrus reached for the pumpkin juice while Jonah filled both of their plates and heaped enough sugar to wake the dead onto their breakfast. Their conversation was cut off by the weekly enteratainment of an argument breaking out between Mack Senior and Junior up on the Professor's table, the hall quieting a little as the students tried to be subtle as they watched. Cyrus couldn't quite understand what they were fighting about this time, but it was funny all the same as they pulled faces and gestured dramatically with their wands, causing all manner of small incidents around the room.

As breakfast drew to a close, his eyes drifted over to the Slytherin table, and he was surprised to find TJ looking back at him. The blonde offered him a smile, which Cyrus was quick to return, before his attention was drawn away again by whatever it was that Kira had been saying to him. Something ugly twinged in his gut at sight of her. Kira had made it no secret since the beginning that she didn't like Cyrus or his friends, and seeing her fawn over TJ now made him feel a little ill. She was cruel, and Cyrus didn't want TJ to be on the receiving end of her manipulation. As stupid as it made him feel, he couldn't get over it so he stood up, cutting Jonah off mid sentence, and started heading out to Transfiguration. Jonah called after him, desperately trying to wrench his bag out from where it had gotten stuck under the bench, and Cyrus slowed down to let his friend catch up. "Not cool, dude, I nearly spilled juice all down Kaitlin's robes." He grumbled, and Cyrus apologised through a laugh.

The rest of the day went much better than Cyrus expected. Transfiguration seemed a lot more complicated than usual to his tired mind, but he forced himself to stay awake and focused, meaning that he managed to slip under Mack's radar. During his Flying class, he was almost successful in pulling off a dive, meaning Professor Rezikoff was too excited by his apparent improvement to notice that he skipped his turn to do a barrel roll.

By lunch he had forgotten all about Kira, and his mood had improved greatly. Jonah was talking his ear off about his upcoming quidditch game against Ravenclaw, and Cyrus was nodding along and saying "really?" in the appropriate places. He loved Jonah, he was one of his closest friends, and he was always interested in what he had to say. The problem was, as the newly appointed Hufflepuff keeper, a lot of what Jonah had to say revolved around quidditch, and Cyrus had _ no clu__e_ how the game worked. He was relieved when Libby sat down across from them and started signing about the Transfiguration homework, successfully diverting Jonah's attention as he eagerly tried to show her all the new sign language he'd learned.

The next class was Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins, and Cyrus felt a little more eager than usual to get to Professor Mack-Quinn's class.

He arrived a few minutes early, and dumped his stuff down on his desk. Jonah took the seat on his right with Libby in front of him, and then in came Buffy to take the seat in front of Cyrus. She turned around, eager to talk. Being in seperate houses meant that their time together in the school day was limited, although they still had afternoons and weekends to hang out, but the way they acted when they met up was as though they hadn't seen each other in years. The two conversed at light speed, trying to say as much as possible before the teacher arrived. Slowly, the rest of the class filtered in around them.

Cyrus caught himself watching the door out the corner of his eye several times, but it was definetly _ not _because he was looking out for TJ. When the Slytherin finally arrived though, he was flanked by Reed and Kira, so Cyrus averted his gaze as quickly as possible. Buffy frowned, noticing his sudden change in demeanour. "You alright Cy?" She asked, and as much as Cyrus loved Buffy for being concerned, he really wished she hadn't bought it up. It wasn't that Buffy hated her house mate, but she had also made it fairly obvious that she was not TJ's biggest fan. She had never gotten over the quidditch try-outs at the beginning of fourth year, and Cyrus wasn't entirely certain what had happened, but he knew something had gone down between the two of them. Cyrus didn't want to lie to her, but he also didn't want to risk an argument.

He was saved by the appearance of their professor. 

Rebecca Mack-Quinn was many things besides the laid back DADA teacher. She was the head of Gryffindor, the mother of Cyrus' best friend Andi, and the daughter of Celia Mack, the uptight transfiguration teacher and head of Slytherin. She had little interest in titles, and insisted that her students referred to her simply as Professor B or Bex, but when talking about her and her mother together they called them Mack Senior and Junior. Despite having a reputation as the most relaxed professor, she was able to control the class with ease. Their love for her was matched by the level of respect they held for her, largely due to the fact that she was the first teacher to ever survive more than one year as DADA professor since the 60s. Everyone fell dead silent when she entered the room.

"Good afternoon sixth years." She said, sitting down on the edge of her desk. "I've got an exciting lesson ahead so I don't want to waste any time. Let's get right into it - we're going to spend the rest of this term studying dementors and patronuses." A wave of excited muttering broke out amongst the students, but died out quickly when Bex lifted her hand for their attention."Yes yes, I know. Patronuses, while being insanely cool, are also some of the hardest magic to master. But I am blessed this year to have a class of highly capable students, unlike the mess I've had in previous years. I am hoping that by Christmas, some of you will be able to produce something, whether it be incorporeal or corporeal."

Bex launched into the theory, pulling up slides on dementors and having them turn to the appropriate pages. Cyrus was practically buzzing with excitement. He was nervous about the dementors, but he knew he was a skilled wizard and a hard worker, and he thought that even if he didn't achieve a fully formed patronus yet, an incorporeal one was well within his reach if he applied himself.

"This is great!" Jonah whispered to him when Bex left them to do some work out the textbook. "I heard from Iris that last year when they got the boggarts out, people started feeling ill, so they were given chocolate after every attempt they made. Can you believe we're going to be given chocolate while also learning the coolest spell ever!" Buffy laughed. "You're so predictable Jonah." "What?" he exclaimed, slightly affronted, but this just caused Buffy to laugh harder.

Cyrus grinned as he watched the two of them bicker back and forth. Then he felt something bump gently against the side of his head. He turned to look, and saw little paper bird fluttering by his ear. He held his hand out, and it landed in his palm and unfolded itself. It was a note that read '_ follow the bird at 11 tonight' _. Cyrus looked around a his gaze fell immediately on TJ in the back row. The blonde winked at him, and Cyrus spun back immediately, face flushing slightly. He refolded the note and slipped it into his pocket before Buffy or another of his friends noticed.

After receiving the note, the rest of the day seemed to drag. DADA came to an end and Cyrus' last lesson of Monday was Care of Magical Creatures. He had it with the Ravenclaws, but without Andi, as she didn't take it for NEWTs. Professor Mendenhall was focusing on sentient and intelligent creatures this term. September had been dedicated to Acromantulas (no practical necessary), and October was the month of mermaids, which Cyrus would usually have found fascinating but now couldn't bring himself to focus on. They were only doing theory for this lesson, which was a lucky thing; if Cyrus had been this distracted on the lake, some form of creature would have made an attempt to drown him.

It really didn't help that now the end of the day was in sight, his sleepless night was beginning to take a toll. Between the note, his fatigue, and his curiosity about what would happen tonight, Cyrus couldn't focus for a single minute of the lesson. His mind kept drifting, and Iris had to elbow him at several vital points throughout the period to try and bring him back to Earth. As hard as she tried, it was to no avail, and Cyrus found himself going back to the Hufflepuff common room with sore ribs from Iris' bony arms, and his hands full of the Ravenclaw's notes with a promise to return them the second he copied it all up onto his own parchment. But the second he sat down on the sofa, intent on spending the his free time until dinner making use of Iris' generosity, he was pulled under by sleep.

* * *

When Cyrus woke up, the lights had been put out. The common room was silent, and the fire was smouldering in the hearth. He groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and waiting for his brain to start functioning again. He could feel something, a repetitive dull poking in his side. He reached down into his pocket, and pulled out the slightly crumpled note. It's legs were a bit bent, but it's beak was fine, and it had been pecking at him to alert him that the time TJ had arranged was drawing near. The clock in the corner of the room was ticking away steadily, hands barely five minutes away from striking eleven. Cyrus was suddenly overcome by a rush of panic, leaping up out of his chair and racing out of the common room in fear of being late.

The bird flew ahead, fluttering at a slight angle from where Cyrus had rolled on on it in his sleep. He followed it through twisting corridors and up several flights of stairs, until he arrived breathless on the third floor outside the entrance to the room of requirements. The note circled back to give Cyrus one last peck of revenge for the damage he'd done to it, and then shattered into a shower of tiny gold sparks, it's purpose served.

Cyrus watched as the sparks faded out, the clock chiming eleven as the last one disappeared. As soon as the last bell rang, the stones on the wall next to him began moving. They slid and shifted, wriggling out of the way of a large wooden door that was pushing itself into the space they left behind. Within seconds it's was fully formed, and swinging open to reveal a grinning TJ. The seeker stepped to the side, holding the door and gesturing for Cyrus to enter with a mock bow. Cyrus smiled and rolled his eyes at the theatrics, but hurried in before a professor came along and caught them

"Well this is all very dramatic." He said, trying to tamp down on the impressed tone that was slipping into his voice. TJ shut the door. "I wouldn't settle for anything less."

Cyrus looked around to see what the room had become. It was about half the size of a classroom, the stone walls lined with various cupboards and shelves. There were no windows, only brackets holding torches placed in between the cabinets. Two comfortable looking chairs sat facing each other in the centre of the room, and TJ strode over to collapse in one. Cyrus followed after him, curling up in his armchair rather than sprawling out all over it.

"Alright, this is a really tricky piece of magic, so I though the room that could change itself to fit to our needs would be best suited for the first few steps. But before we begin, I want to give you a chance to back out. Or at least, reconsider and find some professor or someone who is more qualified to do this." He hurriedly corrected at the look Cyrus gave him. "The process is highly dangerous, takes a very long time, and all sorts of things can go wrong if it isn't performed perfectly. I had the help of Professor Mack, and it still took several start-overs and nearly six months before I could transform. She told me all sorts of horror stories about people getting stuck as half-human half-animal mutations, or losing their minds and going wild. It's a fickle magic, and I don't want it going wrong for you."

Cyrus stayed silent for a minute. Everything TJ was saying was true, and he needed to be certain that this was what he wanted before he went through with it. Although he had already made up his mind, he needed to show TJ that he was serious about this and wasn't just rushing into it. He shifted, setting his feet down on the floor and leaning towards the Slytherin. "TJ, I know that becoming an animagus is a hard and potentially disastrous process. I know what I'm getting into, and I've had time to think about what I'm doing. Thankyou for trying to warn me, but I've honestly been considering this for over two years now and I know what could happen if this all goes wrong. That being said," he caught TJ's eyes "there is no one I want more than you going through this with me. I trust you to do your best, TJ, and I know you won't let me get hurt."

"Oh yeah? How do you figure that, you've barely known me a day." TJ retorted, but his tone was light and joking, so Cyrus simply laughed. "Knock it off, we've gone to school together for over half a decade! Anyway, let me have my moment. I really mean what I said, TJ; I trust you. With this, at least."

TJ sighed and smiled ruefully. "Damn, you sure are stubborn. Alright, I'll do it." Cyrus broke out into a wide smile. "Thankyou! I mean, you had already said you would, but still." TJ snorted at this, and leaned over to shove at Cyrus playfully. "Yeah, well, you might want to wipe that smile off your face, because you really won't be thanking me for what's next." He pulled a small, dark green leaf out his pocket. It was thick and waxy, shining dully in the torchlight. Cyrus' brow creased in confusion. "A leaf? What do you want me to do with this." TJ raised an eyebrow. "You've spent two years considering becoming an animagus but you don't even know the first step? It's a mandrake leaf. You're going to put it in your mouth, and keep it there for a month. If you swallow it or spit it out, you have to start again. " Cyrus wrinkled his nose. "Ew." TJ nodded sagely in agreement. "Yeah, it's gross. And trust me, it really doesn't taste great, especially not after it's been in your mouth for 30 days. It takes a lot of toothpaste to get rid of the flavour afterwards."

Cyrus reluctantly accepted the leaf, and stared at it for a second. He really didn't want to put this in his mouth for a month, but his desire to become an animagus was stronger. He opened his mouth and put it on his tongue before he could think twice. Immediately, his face twisted up into a grimace at the taste. It was bitter and gross, and Cyrus desperately wanted it gone. TJ looked at him in sympathy and put an understanding hand on his shoulder. "I know, I've been there. I suggest using a sticking charm to fix it to the roof of your mouth. That way the taste isn't too overpowering, you don't swallow it in your sleep and you can talk without it being conspicuous." Cyrus did so quickly, thanking TJ as he felt the leaf glue itself securely behind his teeth.

"Ok, so that's the first step. The leaf has to stay in your mouth until the next full moon, which is the 30th. Between now and then we need to gather the rest of the ingredients for the potion. The hair we can do on the night, and the dew needs to be collected at least a week before, but the chrysalis of a Death's-Head Hawk Moth will be hard to find, so the sooner we start looking the better." TJ said. Cyrus thought for a moment. "Where did you find your chrysalis when you were making the potion?" he asked. "Maybe there will be another there?" But TJ was shaking his head. "No, Mack found it for me last time, and she never mentioned where she got it. I would ask, but I don't want to set her off again, and I don't think she would approve of us doing this ourselves if she found out." Cyrus felt a little disappointed that his idea had fallen through, but he agreed with TJ that Professor Mack couldn't know.

"Ok. Well, I could check the Care of Magical Creatures stores if you check the potions supplies? And there are plenty of hidden passageways and rooms that have gone undisturbed for ages. The castle is huge, we're sure to find one _ somewhere _." TJ smiled at him. "Yeah, I'm sure we will. We just need to find one in time." 

He yawned as he finished his sentence, and Cyrus found himself catching it too. "Wow ok, I think we should both go to bed." The Hufflepuff laughed. TJ agreed with him, and they both snuck back out of the room and down the stairs together. They stopped outside the Hufflepuff common room to bid each other goodnight, and then Cyrus was climbing back though the entrance into the common room. The clock now read quarter to twelve, and Cyrus hurried up the stairs into his dormitory. Jonah was snoring loudly in the bed next to his, and Cyrus slipped under the covers noiselessly. He mulled over the sudden turn his life had taken in the last 24 hours, and smiled to himself. Sleep came quickly and peacefully for him that night.

* * *

**14th October**

The rest of the two weeks passed in a slightly odd fashion.

Cyrus would spend the day eating and going to lessons and hanging out with his friends. He caught up with his sleep, wrote up Iris' notes and studied as hard as ever. This was the normal part. 

What made it odd was TJ. Before the night on the lake, the Slytherin had not spoken two words together to Cyrus. Heck, Cyrus was doubtful that TJ had even known he existed. But now his days were littered with passing glances and little oragami notes going back and forth between them, usually several times a day, asking first about their success in finding the moth and then slowing just morphing into conversations about the most random topics. Cyrus ignored how the weird debates they got into made his heart skip beats whenever he thought about them. They came folded as a variety of things: dogs that ran along between feet and chair legs, monkeys that climbed across the ceiling and dropped down onto the desk in front of him, birds like the first that hovered next to his ear. At one point TJ learnt how to make paper peacocks, and after that these were the most common notes to find. It became harder to hide from his friends what he was doing, but he couldn't quite bring himself to tell them yet.

He found himself having to try extra hard to focus on lessons and not letting his mind drift to thinking about TJ's last note, and when he might receive the next one, and what his response migth be to it. And it was even harder because there was a constant reminder of the magic he and TJ were trying to pull of stuck to the roof of his mouth. It was mildly irritating, because _ of course _it would be during the term that all his lessons were doing the most interesting subjects that he would start hanging out with TJ Kippen.

It was worst in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms, which were lessons Cyrus shared with TJ and the Slytherins. These were the times where he recieved the majority of notes, although he made the decision early on to pocket them until after class. He refused to allow himself to become too distracted, especially not in DADA, where the stakes where high as the second week of theory drew to a close, and the promise of starting incantation hung over the following Monday.

The Friday of that week was one where Cyrus had Care of Magical Creatures as the final lesson instead of astronomy, meaning that his night was free. His third lesson was Defence, and so he folded a note (this one shaped like a mouse) telling TJ to meet in the Room of Requirements again, this time at ten.

In the class, Professor Mendenhall announced that today they would be going down to the lake to study plimpys, which were the equivalent of gnomes to the Merfolk. Cyrus, who was far too distracted to watch where he was going, tripped and nearly fell into the water multiple times. "Really, Cyrus!" exclaimed the Professor after his seventh stumble, throwing her hands up in exhasperation and completely forgetting that she'd been holding a plimpy. The poor creature went sailing over their heads and back into the shallows, and Mendenhall let out a shriek and scrambled after it, forgetting all about the lecture she'd been about to give Cyrus.

The lesson drew to a close and the students began wandering back off towards the castle, eager to spend the rest of Friday with their friends. Cyrus hung back, motioning Iris to go on without him, and waited as the Professor emptied the last of the observation tanks with a flick of her wand. She turned around, and started at the sight of a student waiting behind on a Friday afternoon. "Can I help you, Cyrus?" She asked, levitating the tanks and walking along towards him with them in tow. "Um, actually I thought I could help you." He replied, falling in step besides her as they made their way back to the outdoor classroom. "Oh?" She raised an eyebrow inquistively. "How so?" 

"Well, I was looking for the niffler feed in the supply hut, but it took me nearly an hour. It's a mess, so I thought maybe I could clean it up?" Mendenhall looked taken aback, and then slightly suspicious. For a moment Cyrus was worried that she would futher question why a student would want to tidy up on a Friday without it being a detention. But she shrugged it off - she had decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Well, I can't understand why you would want to spend an hour tidying in the shed instead of being with your friends, but I do need it cleaned. Here's the key, leave it under the valerian pot when you're done. Thankyou Cyrus, and you can have 10 points to Hufflepuff when you've finished." They had arrived back by this point, and so she turned off the go back to the castle, whistling as she went. Cyrus was left standing on the step to the hut, grinning to himself.

Cyrus unlocked the door and stepped in. He did intend to clean up, but his heart sank slightly as he took in how messy the store really was. But he had said he would, and after a two week unsuccessful hunt he was getting a bit panicked about the ingredient. He inhaled sharply, took of his robe, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and set to work.

It was a long, hard task. Even with the help of magic, it took Cyrus well over an hour to get it back in order. But he'd done the job thoroughly, and he had a sense of satisfaction looking around at the end product. And what really made him smile was that he'd found what he was looking for: trapped in a cobweb under a box of doxycide, the chrysalis of a Death's-Head Hawk Moth. Cyrus had tucked it carefully into an inner pocket of his robes, terrified of breaking it in some way. He wasn't sure if it would work if it was crushed.

He stepped out of the hut, locking the door and putting the key back. It was already dark out, the autumn sun as quick to set as it's moon was to rise, but it wasn't all that late. Up in the castle, dinner was only just beginning.

Cyrus managed to slip in with a few more late comers, sitting down next to Kaitlin, across from where Jonah and Libby were signing back and forth to one another. Cyrus noted that Jonah's signing was a lot faster than at the start of the year. He had hoped that the two wouldn't notice his late appearance, and they might not have done if not for Kaitlin loudly protesting the small cloud of dust that rose up from his robes when he sat down. She made a show of waving her wand and clearing it up, and now half the Hufflepuff sixth years were watching him. Cyrus groaned, and tried to duck his head out of view. 

"Where the hell have you been?" demanded Jonah once the others looked away. '**We were getting worried. I think that if you hadn't shown up to dinner, Buffy would have organised a school-wide search.**' signed Libby, and there was humour in her eyes. Cyrus apologised quickly, laughing a little at Jonah's fussing, and he explained that he had been tidying up the Care of Magical Creatures shed as a favour to Professor Mendenhall. "I felt a bit bad about how distracted I had been. She had to save me from falling in the lake far too many times." He said, and was pleased when it had the desired reaction of Jonah and Libby laughing at his clumsiness and moving quickly on to another topic of conversation.

It felt like Monday all over again. Cyrus was nearly buzzing with anticipation, and the clock hands ticked slower than normal. After dinner, he accepted his friends offer to play a few games of exploding snap. Seven of them - Marty, Iris, Libby, Jonah, Andi, Buffy, and Cyrus himself - crowded around a table. They sat there wrapped up in their own little world, playing a couple of group games and then switching out in pairs to play, until Cyrus noticed that the time on Buffy's watch read ten to ten. He got up to leave, offering the excuse that spending an hour cleaning had tired him out. His friends protested it for a minute, but then bid him a reluctant goodnight. Jonah told him not to wait up, as he was planning on staying out for another hour or so. Internally, Cyrus was conflicted between disappointment that he couldn't stay with them for longer, and delight that he didn't have to worry about getting back to his dormitory quickly.

He hurried off, slipping up back staircases rather than the grand one to better avoid staff and students alike. This time it was Cyrus who arrived first to the Room of Requirements. He opened the door as quietly as possible, and was startled by the darkness that greeted him. When it became apparent that simply entering the Room wasn't enough to light the torches, he growled a quick lumos under his breath and shut the door. Even with the end of his wand lit, Cyrus could still barely see an inch in front of him. It was as though the darkness was eating up the light, and he stubbed his toe when he reached the chairs. And it was mid curse that the door opened again to reveal TJ in all his grace and elegance. If Cyrus wasn't already swearing he would have done then; the last few minutes had not been what he'd spent all afternoon hoping for.

TJ snickered from the open doorway. "What are you doing standing and swearing in the dark?" He clapped his hands and the flames flickered to life around the room. Cyrus groaned. Of course that would be how you turned on the light. He shouldn't have expected anything less from TJ 'Secret Theatre Kid' Kippen. He cocked an eyebrow at TJ to show how unimpressed he was with the over-the-topness. "Really? Could you _ be _any more dramatic TJ?" The blonde laughed. "Hey, let me live. This is the only time I get to be extra. I'm usually to busy being the star of the Slytherin qudditch team to pull this sort of thing." He shut the door and walked over to take his seat. "There is kind of a purpose for it, though. A lot of the potion's process requires pitch darkness, so having lights that came on whenever you opened the door would ruin it a little." Cyrus nodded. That made sense. And although he would rather feed himself to a Hungarian Horntail than admit it to TJ, he secretly enjoyed the drama of it all.

Cyrus sat down across from him. "So, did you have any luck finding one?" TJ sighed. "Ok, so I checked through the potions closet _ and _the alchemy cupboard today, but I couldn't find a chrysalis. Also, I searched under the stones in the charms classroom last night but again, nothing. Please tell me you had more luck, because I'm running out of ideas for where to find them." 

"Well…" Cyrus feigned disappointment, looking away from TJ. The seeker groaned and threw himself backwards in his chair, and Cyrus could have sworn he saw it tip back slightly because of it. He smirked mischeviously, looking slyly at his friend out the corner of his eyes. "Kidding. I found one!" The change in TJ's demeanour was immediate. He sat up straight in the chair, his face caught between disbelieving and ecstatic. "Are you for real?" He laughed when Cyrus nodded. "Fucking _ finally._ God, that chrysalis has been more trouble than it's worth. You better turn into a bloody dragon or something, Goodman."

They stored it carefully in one of the cupboards, and then started planning for the rest of the ingredients. "There's going to be a rainstorm next Thursday, so we can collect the dew then. We won't be able to come back in the room after we leave it here though, not until the night you drink the potion." said TJ, and Cyrus smiled to himself at the implication that they would be going to collect it together. Purely because TJ was his friend, and he liked spending time with his friends, and to think that it would be for any other reason would be _ ridiculous. _

They talked for nearly an hour, and not just about the Animagus potion. Cyrus eventually left the room, feeling as though he had been stung by a billywig.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okie dokie, i really hope y'all like this, because i'm so hyped to write it. The fic will span about 3 months (October, November, December) so I'm guessing that there will be about 6 chapters, but don't quote me on that.
> 
> also, i'd just like to say that i'm honestly so blown away by the response to aftermath. i really wasn't expecting it, especially not in just a couple of days, but it's so encouraging and inspiring, and i'm genuinely so grateful to everyone who has read/commented/left kudos. thankyou all so much xx
> 
> (come scream about andi mack with me on the newly revived blog [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/b-g--tt-wr-t-s))


	2. The 15th to the 31st of October

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so grateful to everyone who has read/left kudos on this, and for those who left comments that is the best inspiration a writer could ask for xx  
(i headcannon andi and jonah of the ambiguous sexualities are pan and bi respectively. It's not a major plot point, especially not in jonah's case, but i thought it worth mentioning)

**15th October**

Saturday saw the first match of the quidditch season, the Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw game that Jonah had not stopped talking about since the beginning of the month. It was his first official game on the house team, and his excitement had been unmatched by any other student in Hufflepuff. That is, up until breakfast that morning.

Jonah sat quietly, picking at his food without eating anything in a very un-Jonah like manner. Cyrus and Libby tried everything they could think of, and then Andi and Buffy tried it all again when they came to check on him. He remained quiet and only relented when Connor, the seventh year captain of the team, threatened to bench him. And even then he only had half a bowl of cereal.

The time eventually came for Jonah to leave with the rest of the team, dragged out of his seat by Kaitlyn and down into the changing rooms. If Cyrus wasn't so nervous about his friend, he would have found it funny. Marty and Iris came over to join them, and they all headed down to the pitch together. There had been a bit of a debate over whether the two Ravenclaws should support their own house or Jonah, and Andi had settled the debate by enchanting her and Iris' scarves to change colours between blue and yellow so they could support both simultaneously. The rest of them were decked out head to toe in the Hufflepuff house colours, even Buffy's friend Walker, who met them in the stands.

They took their seats, and it wasn't long after that the two teams came flying out onto the pitch to uproarious applause from the audience. Then the game started, and Cyrus lost all knowledge of what was going on. He was sitting by Buffy, who had started out trying to explain it as it happened, but her terms were too technical and Cyrus found himself even more confused than before. He was secretly relieved when she became too caught up in the action to remember to narrate it to him.

Cyrus got a basic understanding of when to cheer based on the commentator, who was another Hufflepuff, and when the rest of his house stood to clap. He mostly focused on Jonah rather than anything else, and was pleased to see that to his (highly untrained) eye, the keeper seemed to be gaining confidence and doing well.

For quidditch, the game didn't last long, as it only took half an hour for Kaitlyn to catch the snitch. Hufflepuff went insane, and Cyrus found himself swept up in the crowd as they stormed the pitch to heave the players up into the air on their shoulders. They made their way back up to the castle, cheering and shouting, and Cyrus managed to loose his friends in the onslaught. He hung back a bit, waiting for his house to pass by so he could make his way to the celebration without being knocked over. He looked back at the pitch to see how many more were coming, and noticed a white peacock making it's way into the treeline of the Forbidden Forest. Cyrus hesitated.

On one hand, he wanted to be there for Jonah. It was his first game, and he wanted to celebrate the success with his friend. On the other hand, he knew the celebrations would be going on all day, so realistically he wouldn't miss much if he followed TJ now. Besides, by the looks of things he wouldn't be able to get to Jonah for another half an hour anyway. He took a step towards the forest, and then another, and then he was walking back down the hill and into the woods. He was insanely grateful for TJ's colouring in this moment. A white bird of that size was impossible to miss in the darkness of the forest, and he found himself following his friend with ease. When they were out of earshot of the rest of the school, he called out.

"TJ! Wait up!" the bird stopped, and looked back. Cyrus was struck by the way the feathers on the top of his head stuck up slightly in a way that mimicked TJ's own gelled up hair. He guessed that this was his mark, but it made him snicker a little that of all the things to take with him into his animagus form, TJ's hair had been the identifying trait. Not that it was a conscious decision by TJ, but in a way that made it funnier. Cyrus grinned as he reached the peacock. "Nice hair." He commented, aiming for nonchalance, but obviously failing if the way TJ pecked him lightly was anything to go by.

They started walking again, and it felt a little odd to be side by side with a peacock, even if he knew it was TJ. Actually, it was it's own brand of weird specifically because it was TJ. "Are you going to change back?" Cyrus asked. TJ shook his head. Cyrus opened his mouth to ask another question, but despite being a bird, TJ could still give a pretty good evil eye.

As they walked, Cyrus wondered whether he was even welcome at the moment. TJ obviously wasn't planning on changing back any time soon, and he might have been coming out to the forest as a way to escape and have some peace. And now Cyrus was intruding. He considered that maybe he should head back up to the castle. It had been long enough by then that he should have been able to make it into the common room with ease. He turned to TJ. "Are you- Do you want me to go?" he asked "Because I can go. Like, if you came out here for some peace and quiet and now I'm ruining it for you, or if I'm getting annoying or whatever. I don't mind. I should probably be heading back up to the common room now anyway, so…" Cyrus trailed off, half turning himself back in the direction of the castle. TJ stopped. He looked as though he was deliberating for a second, and then to Cyrus' surprise, shook his head. "Wait, really? You want me here? I mean, like, not gone?" TJ gave him another well communicated look that clearly said if he wanted Cyrus gone he would have pecked him away by now.

They started walking again, and Cyrus found himself enjoying TJ's company, as silent as it was. For the Forbidden Forest, it was actually very peaceful. Cyrus guessed it was just because they were walking along the outskirts, but he hadn't seen a single dangerous creature, or any creature to be honest. Cyrus was surprised, when they came out by the lake, how quickly the time had gone by. Judging by the sun, it had been at least an hour. And then he was panicking as he remembered the reason he had been out by the forest in the first place.

"Oh my god!" he exclaimed, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Jonah! Oh god, I have to go back. Catch you later Teej!" And he took off like a bat out of hell, running nearly all the way back to the castle, leaving a rather dejected looking albino peacock in his wake.

* * *

**17th October**

To Cyrus' relief, Jonah hadn't been angry at his absence. In fact, Cyrus had felt a bit miffed at the way his friends had been too caught up celebrating to even notice he was gone. Although in fairness, he guessed it was karma for leaving them in the first place.

The weekend passed in a whirlwind of celebration, which died down with the restarting of lessons on Monday morning. For everyone except the sixth year DADA students, that is.

No one could sit still in Bex's third period class. There wasn't a single student talking, but the classroom still sounded like it was inhabited by a swarm of bees as they all but vibrated out of their seats in excitement. Bex was delighted. "Good afternoon guys! This week, the fun really begins. Today is going to be spent learning the correct incantation, wand movement and mindset to cast a successful patronus. Technically this is what I'm supposed to spend the week doing, but I don't think it should really take longer than one period to learn how to say a word and wiggle your wants properly. Finding a good enough memory might be a little more difficult, but we can work on that easier when we actually start getting out the boggarts."

The class was eager to begin, and Cyrus didn't think he could remember a single other time where they had been as focused and ready to learn as this. The atmosphere was electric as they began incanting, standing up to copy how Bex stepped into the motion of the wand. Cyrus was so caught up, he almost didn't notice the tiny paper sloth clinging to his leg. After the lesson, he unfolded it. _ 'Training grounds at ten on Thursday night.' _

That night, Cyrus and Jonah annoyed Libby with their constant practising of _ Expecto Patronum _ . **'Sit down and stop being so distracting. Why don't you talk instead, I'm trying to complete my potions essay.'** Her signing was so quick in her frustration Cyrus almost lost what she was saying, and Jonah had had no hope of keeping up. They did as she asked though, and instead discussed which happy memories they would think about.

"I think mine will be Saturday." Jonah said. By this point Cyrus was lying down, hogging the sofa, which meant Jonah had to sit on the floor and lean against the couch next to Cyrus' head. He tilted his head back to look Cyrus in the eye. "I've got an idea for yours." Cyrus rolled onto his side. "What?" His friend smiled innocently. "You're first date with Iris." Cyrus scowled and hit Jonah in the head, and when his friend retaliated, the two started cat-fighting. It only ended when Cyrus lost his balance and fell on top of Jonah, effectively crushing him, which Cyrus counted as a win.

"No but seriously, what are you going to think of?" Jonah asked when they'd both caught their breath and rearranged themselves. Cyrus was the one sitting up now, and the keepers head was resting in his lap. A few years ago, this would have killed Cyrus, or at least sent him into shock, but now he felt nothing except platonic affection and mild annoyance at how Jonah's head was heavy and starting to make his legs go dead. He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe the first time I met you." Jonah's brow creased. "Wasn't that in flying class? Didn't you nearly decapitate me with your broom?" He asked, indignant. Cyrus smiled wistfully, enjoying winding him up. "Yeah. Actually, that might not be good enough, since I wasn't actually successful."

As he shoved Jonah away and desperately scrambled up the stairs to the dormitory, dodging a jelly legs jinx as he climbed, his mind wandered to the intense colour of TJ's eyes in the light of the full moon, the way his smile lit the room better than any torch, and feathers that stuck up like a quiff on the head of a white peacock.

Third period Wednesday was Cyrus' next DADA lesson, and in his excitement to get there, he got himself stuck in a trick step on the second floor staircase. He sent a quick message to Bex telling her about his misfortune, but the step was mercifully quick to release him. In the end, he was barely three minutes late.

When he entered the room, he was surprised to find the tables cleared away and the students all but cowering in the far corner. There was a cabinet by Bex's desk, and as Cyrus watched, it gave a particularly violent bang and rocked back and forth on its legs. Cyrus remembered that today was the first lesson with boggarts. He joined his classmates.

Only Bex looked like she was having any fun. She was highly amused by the antics of the sixth years, and stood grinning by the cabinet, unaffected by it's shaking. "Come on guys!" She said cheerfully, intending to make as much fun as she could. "Anyone would think you were afraid of boggarts or something." The sixth years groaned at the bad joke, but it was cut off by them jumping in fright when the cupboard rattled again. Bex laughed, but not unkindly. "Alright then, shall I go first?" She stepped forward to undo the latch, and someone (who sounded suspiciously like Jonah) gave a little shriek of fear. The professor lifted the lock slowly, and Cyrus knew she was doing everything possible to make it more dramatic. She very easily could have used _alohamora_, but the closer she got to the cabinet, the tenser the students got and she knew it.

Bex stepped back quickly as soon as the door was unlocked, because as much as she enjoyed winding her class up she wasn't an idiot. The door burst open with enough force to break the top hinge, and the boggart poured out in a cloud of smoke. The lights flickered and then were blown out entirely, and a chill crept into the air. Cyrus could see his breath forming as condensation. In front of the students was a dementor.

Bex stepped in front of the group, shielding them and effectively getting the boggart to focus solely on her. She lifted her wand and jabbed it forward, following the forward motion of her arm and stepping into the spell. "_Expecto Patronum! _" A silvery light exploded out of the tip of the wand, and formed into the shape of a lion. The patronus roared and charged at the fake dementor, tossing it across the length of the classroom and into a wall. The boggart deflated upon impact, and the classroom exploded into applause. Bex gave a mock bow. "Ok class, who's next?" 

Despite looking forward to this for weeks, the sixth years stayed silent and wary in the corner. No one was eager to step forward and put themselves in the dementor's path, even if it wasn't a real one. Bex sighed, and with a little difficulty, sorted them into a line. Cyrus found himself standing only three people from the front, and felt panic curdle in his stomach. <strike>Messing around</strike> Practising with Jonah and dreaming about casting a successful patronus was very different to actually putting the spell to use. Poor Kristina, who had been placed at the very front, fainted as the boggart once again took on the dementors form.

There was a minor delay as Bex had to quickly force the boggart back into the cupboard and conjure up a stretcher to put her on in the corner. "No need to worry guys, she'll be fine. This happens all the time, so we don't need to take her down to the hospital wing. Hell, if we did that with every student who collapsed in this class, there wouldn't be any beds left!" She had been aiming to keep the atmosphere light and joking, but the comment made several of the students loose all the remaining colour in their faces.

None of the students were successful in conjuring anything the first or second time around, but only one other person fainted. To Cyrus' surprise it wasn't him. On the third attempt, to the surprise of absolutely no one, Buffy was the first person to achieve any degree of success. A thin white vapour hung in the air between her and the boggart for a couple of seconds and then vanished. Once again, enthusiastic clapping rippled around the room. "Well done Buffy! 10 points to Slytherin." Said Bex, grinning wildly, and she high-fived Buffy as she went past. A few more people, notably TJ and Libby, also achieved a brief incorporeal mist on that days final round. Cyrus wasn't disheartened by his failure to produce mist, partly because the fraction of students that had achieved it was much smaller than those who didn't, but also because now DADA was over he was free to daydream about Thursday night.

* * *

**20th October**

The rest of Wednesday dragged, and Thursday went even slower.

At the evening meal on Thursday, Professor Dullridge announced that Cyrus' Astronomy lesson was cancelled due to the storm due in the night. Cyrus was relieved to find that this meant Jonah had decided to head up to bed at half nine. "Sorry dude, I've got quidditch practice first thing in the morning and no midnight Astronomy, or I would stay up with you." He said, although this was technically a lie: Cyrus was writing an essay for Tuesday's charms lesson, and hell would freeze over before Jonah did homework any sooner than the night before it was due in.

Cyrus waited ten minutes before leaving the common room, just in case his friend came back down, and then slipped out the door into the corridor. It took him a little while to get out into the courtyard, and luckily he didn't run into anyone on his way. The clouds were blanketing the sky, preventing any light from the stars or moon reaching the grounds. On the bright side, this meant that Cyrus didn't have to cast another disillusionment charm, but it also meant he was all but blind stumbling across the grass on muscle-memory, scared that a teacher might spot him if he cast _lumos_. It also meant that neither he nor TJ could spot each other in the dark.

Two minutes to ten, Cyrus walked straight into something. Or rather, some_one_. He hadn't been walking as fast as usual, scared of tripping, but since Cyrus' normal walking speed was quicker than the average, even trying to go slow he was moving quite fast. So when he bumped in to the person, it knocked him back and made him lose all the air in lungs. Despite being knocked breathless, Cyrus managed to summon up a decent shriek, the surprise of walking straight into someone's chest causing him to have the same reaction as he would to a jump scare. It really didn't help calm his heart when a hand clamped down on his mouth.

"Jesus, Cyrus, do you want the whole castle to know we're out here? It's just me, calm down." TJ hissed, and Cyrus stopped, flushing slightly in the dark. Of course it was TJ, he was the whole reason he had come out in the first place. Still, he was a little disgruntled from the fright and from the hand that TJ still hadn't dropped from his mouth. He was tempted to lick it, but TJ took his hand away before he could. He caught his breath and stepped back a little so that they were no longer touching. "How did you know it was me?" Cyrus couldn't see TJ, but he could practically sense him raising his eyebrows at the question. "Because we agreed to meet here? Training Grounds at ten, which is the whole reason I'm out here freezing my ass off and waiting for it to rain." He muttered something else, too quietly to hear, and started walking towards the lake, simultaneously grabbing at Cyrus' wrist and pulling him along with him. "What was that last bit?" Cyrus asked, stumbling a little before falling into step with TJ. The seeker sighed like it was a great challenge, and then repeated himself. "I said I could hear you. Like, I knew it was you because I could hear your heartbeat and walking pattern." The Hufflepuff frowned. "What does that even mean Teej?"

TJ was quite for a minute, and Cyrus could feel that he was struggling to find words to properly explain what he had said. "It's like, like - alright, uh, you know how I'm an animagus? And my form is a peacock? Well, that's a bird yeah? Obviously that's a bird I didn't need to explain that, fuck, um - look it's just that when a witch or wizard achieves their animagus form, the way Professor Mack said it was that we unlock another part of ourselves. And that we bring some of our traits from our animal form back into our human bodies with us. So, birds have really great hearing, and I can hear your heartbeat and how you walk and I've just spent a lot of time with you recently, so I've sort of memorised it? Subconsciously. It's not weird." The whole speech was a bit desperate, a bit forceful, but last sentence was especially defensive, almost daring Cyrus to argue. Or like he was expecting him to. Like Cyrus was going to find TJ weird. That in itself felt backwards to Cyrus.

Cyrus didn't really understand why TJ was acting odd about this. He had come across this phenomenon while researching animagi years ago, but he'd forgotten all about it until just then. It was a perfectly normal thing to happen. But then again, with everything surrounding his animagus form TJ had been guarded and defensive. Cyrus wanted to understand what made him feel like this about the transformation, but he put his curiosity to one side. For whatever reason, TJ needed reassurance right now not nosiness, and Cyrus was determined to put his mind at ease. "Dude, it's fine. It's not weird. Well, not weirder than anything else in a magical community. I think it's kind of cool actually, to be able to tell the difference between people based on your hearing." TJ snorted a little at this, but Cyrus could feel him relax against him. He realised then that TJ had never dropped his wrist, but he couldn't bring himself to shake the other boy off. As much as the contact made his brain feel fuzzy, he reckoned he could deal with it for a little while longer.

The walk to the lake took nearly three times longer than usual, both from their talking and the pitch darkness. When they got far enough from the castle they felt safe enough to light up their wands, and Cyrus nearly wept with joy from the ability to see again. He had tripped so many times, and TJ had been the only thing to stop him falling flat on his face. The rain started just before they could reach the shore line, and TJ cast an umbrella charm over their heads to prevent them being soaked. "The rain is due to last for about an hour, so we can wait here for a bit." The Slytherin said, taking a seat on the shingle beach. Cyrus remained standing, staring at TJ in blatant disbelief. TJ fidgeted under the judgement. "What?" 

"The rain is going to last for an hour?"

"Yeah? I just said that."

"Then why didn't we wait the rain out in the castle?"

TJ didn't have a response for this. He opened his mouth but closed it again pretty quickly. Cyrus raised an eyebrow at him, and TJ groaned, burying his head in his knees, but not quickly enough to stop Cyrus seeing the beginnings of a blush making it's way up his cheeks. "Oh my god. I'm so dumb." The Hufflepuff laughed and sat down next to him. "Nah, just a small oversight on your part. High int low wis, you know?" TJ looked back up, frowning. His face was still a very light shade of pink, but it was barely noticeable in the weak light of the wands. "No? what's that." Cyrus fumbled for a second, having completely forgotten that TJ was pureblooded and had zero knowledge on anything from the muggle world. "Uhh, it's nothing really. It's from this muggle game, but it basically means a really smart person who overlooks their common sense sometimes. Like how Andi gets really high marks in class, but has set herself on fire an average of three times a year by being careless with her wand." TJ's face cleared in understanding, and he nodded. "Yeah, that sounds right. But hey," he knocked shoulders with Cyrus, all of a sudden brightening up considerably. "At least I get to spend more time with you now." Cyrus flushed and ducked his head. His heart felt like it was about to break out of his chest, and goddamn it was really not the time for his feelings about TJ to show themselves for the thousandth time that night.

The hour was a paradox, somehow passing in a flash and also dragging on for eternity. Cyrus' crush had strengthened over the past few weeks, and it meant that everything TJ did could easily set him off, and his constant blushing and slight stuttering was really embarrassing. At the same time, every second he spent with the other became his new favourite moment, and he felt as though he could spend years doing nothing but talking with TJ and never get bored. When the rain stopped and TJ lowered the charm, he felt a mix of disappointment and relief that their time was drawing to a close. The blonde stood up, brushing the pebbles off and then offering a hand to help Cyrus up, a soft smile displayed openly on his face. Cyrus felt his breath catching in his throat, but somehow he managed to take the hand. TJ pulled him up, but overestimated the amount of strength needed to haul a skinny 16 year old up, and so Cyrus ended up crashing into TJ's chest for the second time that night.

Cyrus' heart stopped. Everything stopped.

TJ laughed. "Hey again." He said one he stopped, grinning broadly and _fuck _that smile was destroying Cyrus' attempt at functioning normally. Thankfully TJ didn't seem to notice his inner turmoil, and he walked over to the grass, crouching down to collect the dew on a little silver teaspoon he had pulled out of his robes. Cyrus collected his thoughts as best he could and then followed. '_huh,_' said his inner voice '_he seems a lot happier than earlier._' It was true. TJ had been tense and a little angry when Cyrus had bumped into him the first time that night; not aimed at him, but simmering under his skin. Now he was relaxed and grinning broadly, offering the dew up to his friend. "Another step towards success, Underdog." He said, and Cyrus cocked his head to the side at the nickname. "Underdog? Where did that come from?" He asked, taking the spoon. TJ shrugged and stood up. "Well, you kind of are in this situation. I wasn't expecting us to get this far along, and I don't know how much further we're gonna get. Since it's just two 16 year olds attempting the most difficult and potentially dangerous magic in the world, the odds aren't really in our favour. But you know what? I think I'm starting to get a little faith in you, Underdog." Cyrus smiled despite his attempt to remain aloof. "Who knew you were such a sap, Kippen?" TJ snorted and knocked their shoulders together.

They headed back up to the castle, and as they got to the doors TJ held his hand out to Cyrus. The Hufflepuff was confused, and simply stared at his open palm and TJ huffed and said "Pass me the dew back. I'll put it in the room before I head back to my dormitory." Cyrus tried to protest, saying that he would go and there was no need for TJ to get caught on his behalf, but eventually accepted that the seeker could not be dissuaded. He carefully handed the little spoon back, and cast disillusionment on TJ. "Thank you, Teej." He whispered, and then he slipped back into the castle, nervous about getting caught now that he was alone and back indoors. He all but ran back to his dormitory, and was relieved to find everyone was still asleep. He got into bed in record speed, and the night's adventure meant he was tired enough to fall asleep immediately.

* * *

**31st October**

The next ten days were consumed by schoolwork, and Cyrus barely received or sent any notes during that time. Now that they'd collected the dew, there was nothing left to do except wait for the full moon. Cyrus missed his interactions with TJ, but was distracted by hanging out with his friends and practising summoning his patronus. At the beginning of his third lesson with boggarts, Cyrus had managed to produce an incorporeal patronus and was overjoyed. All the sixth years could make mist now, and with every class they strengthened, but no one had been successful in mustering up a fully formed one yet.

Now that it had come to the end of October, everyone was buzzing about Halloween. Cyrus had always enjoyed this holiday, but it was different in Hogwarts, amplified to an extent. And now the day was finally here. It had fallen on a Monday, but lessons had been cancelled to allow for festivities and a Hogsmeade trip.

Cyrus was woken up at nine by Jonah, who was practically bouncing off the walls. "Come on dude, it's Halloween!" He said, tugging on his friend's arm until Cyrus was dragged off his bed and into a messy heap on the floor, limbs tangled in blankets and eyes stuck shut with sleep. "Jonah, s'too early." he grumbled, deciding that he was too tired to bother extracting himself from his duvet and instead settling down and making himself comfortable, meaning to go back to sleep on the floor. But Jonah wasn't having any of it, and started untangling Cyrus himself. "Jonah, no." Cyrus whined, trying to bury deeper into the covers "It's like it's Christmas or something." 

"Even better bro, it's _gay _Christmas. Now come on!" Jonah had finished extracting Cyrus from his blanket nest. Cyrus considered making an argument about him being Jewish and therefore not having to celebrate Christmas in any form, but he was too tired to speak any more than necessary, and so allowed Jonah to drag him down into the Great Hall without anymore complaints. The decorations were as spectacular as always, and Cyrus woke up quickly while eating. Jonah scarfed down his food as fast as possible, eager to meet up with their friends in the courtyard and get to Hogsmeade, but as Libby hadn't gotten to breakfast yet Cyrus refused to leave. He ate his breakfast at a leisurely pace, ignoring Jonah as he tried to persuade him to hurry up. "Fuck off Jonah, not all of us want to get indigestion."

It was twenty to ten when they got to the courtyard, and it was pretty crowded. The third, fourth and fifth years had already left, but over half of sixth year and most of the seventh were milling around waiting to be taken down. Cyrus spotted Buffy, Marty and Andi standing in the far corner and headed over, Jonah and Libby in tow. "Hey," he greeted, hugging the two girls "Happy Halloween!" '**Is this all of us?**' Libby asked, and Buffy nodded. "Yeah, Iris and Walker and going with some of their other friends. Amber and her cronies, and I think her brother TJ as well." Cyrus heart skipped at the mention of TJ, but he had become fairly practised at keeping a straight face so it went unnoticed by his companions.

Just then, Professor Mack appeared at the top of the steps, and cleared her throat. Silence settled over the yard. "Alright students, we're heading down to the village now. As you've been doing this for several years I expect that you all remember the rules for these visits, but just in case anyone needs reminding," and here she sent out a few pointed looks to those who had crossed her before "don't go anywhere by yourselves, don't leave the village, and don't be late back to the castle. This evening's festivities start at six, and if any of you want to dress up I suggest coming back earlier. Oh, and one more thing! Professor Mack-Quinn has informed me that one of the boggarts she has been using with the sixth years has gone missing. I doubt it will have made it’s way to Hogsmeade, if anywhere it’s probably in the Forbidden Forest, but keep an eye out just in case." Having said her piece, she turned around and started leading the students down into the village. It lay about a mile outside of Hogwarts' gates, and since it was downhill from the castle, the journey there took barely twenty minutes.

Hogsmeade itself was tiny, and under what seemed like perpetual snowfall, but it was lively. There were orange and black decorations covering every inch of the street, and the people were dressed up as ghouls and hags and vampires. Cyrus saw a couple of children that he recognised as Madam Rosmerta's grand-kids running around dressed as dementors. The students split up and went their own separate ways upon entering the town, and Buffy had taken it upon herself to lead her group into The Three Broomsticks. 

The pub was dimly lit, and the floor was covered in a thin layer of fog. The group sat down at a round table near the hearth, and all bar Andi ordered butterbeer. Having already turned 17, Andi was legally an adult in the wizarding community and she made sure to rub it in her friends faces whenever possible. In Hogsmeade that meant drinking firewhiskey.

They spent an hour and a half drinking and talking, before splitting into smaller groups to explore the shops that they wanted to visit. Cyrus found himself with Andi and Buffy browsing in Honeydukes. Even at Halloween the shop was warm, familiar and comforting. The air was heavy with the smell of sugar, and the lights were brighter than anywhere else in Hogsmeade, but lime green rather than the usual gold. There were tiny statues of hags crouched in the corner of shelves, beckoning and crooning to the customers, and a little figurine of a man with his head stuck in a pumpkin stumbled blindly back and forth across the counter, switching between waving his arms out in front of him and trying to pull the gourd off his shoulders. Cyrus watched him with fixed fascination.

Buffy pulled the other two over to the hard candy section, and it seemed that she had an agenda for going with Cyrus and Andi, separate to spending time with her best friends. “Ok guys, I need to ask you something.” She whispered, voice serious. Cyrus pulled his attention from pumpkin-head, and he and Andi leaned in. “What is it? Are you ok?” asked Cyrus, quick to assume the worst from the vague tone and wording. Buffy nodded and they both breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, what is it then?” hissed Andi. Buffy looked around, as though she was about to disclose state secrets rather than high school drama. “I like Marty. Like, I have a crush on him.”

Cyrus and Andi stared at her. “Is that it?” asked the Ravenclaw, raising an eyebrow. “I could have told you that. And I would have been much less dramatic about it.” Buffy scowled. “Yeah right. Remember your Jonah-Amber-Libby drama back in second and third year?” Andi went bright red. “We agreed to not talk about that anymore! Also, we were thirteen!” Her voice had gone so high that the two other people in the aisle turned to glare at the teenagers and cover their ears pointedly. Cyrus shushed them both. "Was that all you wanted to say Buffy? Because that wasn't a question, and you said you had to ask something." he whispered, and the two girls promptly forgot about their little stand-off.

"No. What I was going to say was how do I ask him out?" Buffy said, and it was Cyrus' turn to be wry. "You came to me and Andi for dating advice?" He asked drily. Buffy rolled her eyes. "Don't be a dick. I know you two have the worst track record in the history of the world, but you're also my best friends. I can't _not _talk to you about this!" Cyrus and Andi considered this. "Well, ok then. What are you planning on doing?" Cyrus asked. Buffy groaned. "If I knew, would I be asking? I'm may not be as bad as you two, but I'm no expert at romance."

The three of them moved around the store, discussing ideas and shooting most of them down as quickly as they arose. At one point Andi and Buffy got back into an argument over second year after the former suggested giving Marty something homemade, and Cyrus went back to watching the pumpkin-head, not wanting to get in the middle of their bickering. The figurine had run into the cash register and fallen down on its back. It stayed like that and gave a deep sigh, apparently having given up for now. Cyrus wasn't sure whether he was transfixed by it because it was a twisted sense of funny or because it was just weirdly distracting. Either way, he was so busy watching the man that he didn't notice Andi and Buffy wandering up the stairs to the second floor, or the doorbell chiming at the arrival of someone new.

"Hey Cyrus." A voice from behind made the Hufflepuff jump, and he whirled around to come face-to-face with TJ. He was grinning, and Cyrus noticed Walker lingering by a chocolate frog display in the far corner. "TJ. Fancy seeing you here." Cyrus responded once his breathing restarted, and he noted that he was becoming breathless a lot these days. The blonde tilted his head towards the pumpkin-head, whose hands were halfheartedly pushing at the pumpkin. "They're pretty weird, right? My nan used to have one as a Halloween decoration. Y'know, if you take the pumpkin off his head he'll just put it right back on again." Cyrus looked up at TJ, about to say something in reply, but his friends face had gone oddly pensive. But before he could ask what was wrong, he heard Buffy's voice calling from upstairs. "Hey Cyrus! Where are you? Don't think you're getting out of this by wandering off!"

Cyrus sighed. "Sorry, I've got to go find them. I'll see you later tonight though, ok? Don't forget to be by the lake for nine, that's when the clouds are supposed to clear up. I've got to finally get this leaf out of my mouth!" He joked, and was pleased when TJ returned his smile. "Yeah, for sure. Catch you later then." Cyrus felt a little guilty about leaving TJ, but he headed back up anyway. "What were you _doing__?_ We're having a crisis Cyrus!" Buffy said when he arrived, and then brushed off his apology in favour of dragging him over to the back where Andi was standing.

They left Honeydukes pretty soon after that, and when they went back down to pay for their sweets TJ was nowhere in sight. Cyrus tried to put him out of his mind and focus on his friends, but that was easier said than done. When they met back up with Jonah, Marty and Libby an hour later at Tomes and Scrolls, Cyrus was still thinking about their brief encounter, and what was going to happen down by the lake that night.

* * *

It was getting dark when they decided to head back up to the castle, although it was barely half four. Despite it being an uphill trek and having spent a full day exploring the town, they were energetic, raucous and constantly laughing. The path they took cut through a quiet forest (unrelated to the forbidden one on the Hogwarts grounds), and as a result the ground was knotted with rocks and roots. Cyrus ended up a little behind his group, multiple trips causing him to tread carefully and slowly. When he drifted far enough that the noise of his friends became dampened, he could have sworn that he could hear something moving in the undergrowth behind him. But before he could ever check, Jonah or Andi or Marty would call out to him, yelling for him to hurry up.

About halfway through the woods he stumbled over a well-disguised tree branch. He fell backwards, but managed to catch himself on a boulder just to the side of the walk. Nobody seemed to have noticed, so used to the sound of him tripping that they had begun to become desensitised to it. Again Cyrus heard something rustling in the trees behind him, and he slowed down. The others, oblivious, carried on walking and rounded a corner, unintentionally leaving him behind. Caught up in his curiosity, Cyrus didn’t notice that he was now alone. He walked cautiously back down the path in the direction of the noise, careful not to stray further than the treeline.

As Cyrus got closer to it, he noticed a sudden drop in temperature of the air around him, but he put it down to it being late October. Maybe the frost now blanketing the woods had appeared a bit suddenly, but hey, nature could be affected weirdly by magic. But when a thick fog began coiling through the air, Cyrus finally acknowledged to himself that there was _something _going on, and decided it was in his best interests to go back up the path and leave well enough alone. He had decided it a little too late.

A dementor hovered between the trees in front of Cyrus.

Cyrus froze up, fear coursing through him in a way stronger than he'd ever felt it before. The gap between practising on boggarts in Bex's lesson and seeing a dementor alone in an uncontrolled environment was so vast that it was hard to believe that anything he had learned the past month could help prepare him in any way for this situation. And he couldn't even produce a corporeal patronus yet. He was not ready to face a dementor. 

It drifted slowly towards him, and Cyrus desperately wanted to run away, but his feet were not listening to his brain. His whole body was frozen in fear, and he felt sick. Beyond the panic, a small and confused voice in the back of his head wondered what a dementor was even doing in a forest outside of Hogsmeade. They weren't exactly a common species, and while they were no longer confined to Azkaban, you didn't just run into them in day-to-day life. He pushed this wondering aside. He could focus on questioning the odd circumstances of a dementors appearance after he escaped the situation. If he escaped the situation.

It was closer now, and Cyrus finally understood what it meant when people said that time slowed down. The dementor was moving at snail pace, but Cyrus still couldn't do anything to get away. It was like everything was moving through treacle. Cyrus' breathing was sluggish, his every thought and movement lagging. He tried to reach for his wand, shoved rather carelessly into the back pocket of his jeans, but his arm was dead weight and uncooperative. Only his heart wasn't trapped in stagnation. Instead it was beating at breakneck speed, eroding his ribs with how hard it was hammering against them.

Cyrus heard something snap to the side of him, perhaps an animal or something moving in the bushes. Whatever it was, it snapped Cyrus out of his terror-induced trance. He pulled out his wand, the feeling of the smooth wood under his fingers giving him a burst of reassuring confidence. He thought back to all the times in Bex's class that he'd been able to conjure an incorporeal patronus, all the memories that he'd used. The first time he'd met Andi, Buffy, Jonah. Getting a letter to Hogwarts, or discovering that magic even existed in the first place. Coming out to his friends and having immediate acceptance and support. His mind jumped from one to the other, unable to settle in it's desperation. And then there was a single memory fixing itself in his mind's eye. A night, not even two weeks ago, where he sat by the lake under a rainstorm with a stupidly pretty Slytherin and talked about nothing and everything.

It was like he was acting on autopilot. He didn't realise what he was doing, didn't notice that he was stepping forwards and lifting his wand, until he was shouting the incantation. _"Expecto Patronum!" _ Out of the end of his wand burst an unending stream of bright silver fire, and then there was something solid emerging from it. A corporeal patronus. Cyrus was so shocked by it's appearance, watching open-mouthed as it charged at the dementor and drove it back into the forest and out of sight, that he didn't actually see what it was.

The bright light of his patronus faded, and he could hear something running at him. He swung around, wand raised, and was greeted to the sight of his friends pelting back down the hillside. "CYRUS!" They were shouting and screaming, and when Buffy reached him - first, of course - she didn't stop. She smacked into him with enough force to bowl him over, but then her strong arms were wrapping around him, stopping him from falling but also from breathing. "Oh my god, Cyrus, I'm so sorry! We didn't notice you had fallen behind, and of course we turned around the second we realised, but then I saw - a dementor! Cyrus, what was a dementor doing here? Oh my god I was so worried, and it didn't look like you were going to do anything, but you did! And - OH MY GOD!" She pulled back, arms loosening from their crushing grip and Cyrus inhaled deeply in relief. The others had caught up and were standing around, all looking at him with identical mixtures of shock and awe.

"Cyrus, holy shit! You did it! A real corporeal patronus!" Buffy was beaming, and Cyrus smiled weakly back at her. "Yeah, I guess I did." he said, too tired from everything to be properly excited. "Did you see what it was? I didn't get a good look." Buffy shook her head and looked around at the rest of the group for input. Only Libby nodded. '**I wasn't that focused on it, but I think it was some sort of bird. An owl, maybe?**' she signed, and despite his weariness Cyrus felt a little pride swelling in his chest. He produced a real patronus, an owl. He got passed around the rest of his friends after Buffy released him, all of them holding him tightly as if they couldn't quite believe he was there.

"God, I was so scared seeing that dementor." said Andi when they start walking back up, her arm linked with Cyrus'. "I could barely breathe, and I wasn't even that close to it. I'm so proud of you Cyrus." he nodded, and leaned his head against hers in solidarity. "I didn't think I was going to be able to do anything. I was frozen still, and if that animal - or whatever it was - hadn't snapped me out of it I don't think I _would_ have snapped out of it." he murmured to her. Andi stopped dead in her tracks, jolting Cyrus to a halt from their linked arms. There was a frown on her face when he looked back at her.

"What's wrong?" Her eyes darted up to meet his, urgency burning in them with an intensity that worried Cyrus a little. "Did you say there was an animal? When you were facing the dementor?" She asked, voice pressing. Cyrus nodded slowly, uncertain as to why she looked so stricken. And then it clicked. "Animals flee from dementors. Their fight or flight instincts are triggered, just like ours, but they always run away." He whispered. "But if there was no animal-" "-then what was in the bushes behind you?" Andi finished his question, and they shared a look. "Shit. I _knew _there was something off about that whole situation. Dementors don't just show up out of nowhere in Hogsmeade." He groaned, dragging a hand down his face. Andi started walking again and Cyrus fell into step with her.

"Hey, didn't Cece say something about one of mom's boggarts going missing? Earlier, before we came down town?"

"Oh my god yeah, she did. Do you think that's what it was?"

"It's highly likely. But still, Cece was right, it probably would have escaped into the forest. And that doesn't explain how it even got out in the first place!"

"Do you think someone released it on purpose? Maybe they bought it here with them."

Andi bit her lip. "That's a pretty serious accusation, Cy. I mean, it's probable, but who would even do that?" Cyrus scrunched up his nose. "Not gonna lie, I can think of a few. But you're right, I don't have any proof that's what happened." Andi sighed and tilted her head back. "Ugh, this is so annoying. If someone did steal it, why? And why would they release it there? Unless they were specifically targeting you. Hey, maybe they were the sound you heard in the bushes?" Cyrus snorted. "If it was, that would be ironic. Releasing a boggart on me only to be the very reason I drive it off and become the first in our year to cast a fully corporeal patronus." They both dissolved into giggles at this. Cyrus thought that the conversation was over for the time being, but then Andi's face fell back into a worried frown. "I'm going to have to tell Cece or mom about this. I mean, mom was definitely going to find out because it's her boggart _and _you produced a patronus, but I might tell her about this too. If you're alright with that, I mean?" Cyrus nodded. "Yeah, that's probably smart." Andi grinned and checked his shoulder with hers. "Duh. The Sorting Hat put me in Ravenclaw for a reason you know." She teased. "What are you two whispering about conspiratorially back there?" Came Buffy's voice from further up the path, and Cyrus and Andi raced to catch up with their friends, all serious talk abandoned for the rest of the evening.

* * *

The Halloween Feast was one of Cyrus' favourite events of the year.

Over half the student and teacher body alike was dressed up in incredible costumes that would have been impossible without the help of magic. For the first time since he had arrived at Hogwarts Cyrus would not be participating, and although he was insanely excited to take the next step in his animagus transformation, it pained him that he wasn't able to dress up with his friends. He had given the excuse that he was feeling a bit off after his earlier encounter with the boggart-dementor, and it was the same reason he used to escape early and go down to the lake.

When he reached the shore line, TJ was already waiting for him. In his hand was a small vial, already filled with the dew they had collected, and he was adding the chrysalis to it as Cyrus reached him. "Hey." he greeted, taking a seat on the pebbles. TJ's head jerked up, a look of shock painted across his face, but he relaxed and smiled when he saw who it was. "Hey yourself. You ready to get rid of that mandrake leaf and complete the first stage?" 

"I've never been more excited for something in my whole life than taking this leaf out. I can't imagine not living with the constant taste of rotten kale anymore though - it sounds too good to be true." 

"I know the feeling. Go ahead and spit it in the vial, then." TJ passed him the glass, and Cyrus didn't think he had ever felt relief this great before in his life. "Ah, you're lucky the moons out tonight, and on your first go to." The Slytherin said as he took it back. "I had to restart twice because the night was too cloudy for the moonlight to reach the potion." Cyrus' eyes widened. "You mean I could have had to go through a whole other month if tonight hadn't been clear?" He asked, horrified. TJ nodded. "Yeah. It's not much fun, trust me. Really makes you consider if you even want to become an animagus that bad." He shook the vial gently. The contents, which had previously been clear, turned a luminous blue as the leaf dissolved.

"Ok, just one more ingredient and then this is getting stored away until the next electrical storm. Can you put some of your hair in here?" Cyrus stared at him blankly. "You're joking, right?" he asked. TJ shook his head. "Nope. Cough up, Underdog." Cyrus gave a long-suffering sigh and reached up to pull a couple of strands of his hair out. He winced as he did so. It was painful for his head, but also wounded his dignity; he took a lot of pride in his hair. He dropped it into the tube, and jumped at the tiny puff of smoke that came out. The potion turned a deep purple, and shimmered with a pale gold sheen. Cyrus was transfixed by how pretty it had turned out.

TJ pulled a stopper out of his pocket and capped the vial. He put it back in his jacket, and then leaned back, stretching his legs out in front of himself and resting his weight on his hands. "It's beautiful out tonight, isn't in?" The seeker whispered, looking up at the stars. Cyrus nodded aggressively in agreement, and TJ laughed when he looked at him out the corner of his eyes. "You're not even looking at the sky." He teased, and Cyrus flushed from being exposed. "I saw it on the way down." He said indignantly, and TJ smirked. "Is that so? Would that be when the sky was covered in clouds?" Cyrus blushed darker, praying that TJ couldn't see it in the dark. 

Instead of mocking him some more, TJ lay down fully and patted the space next to him. Hesitantly, Cyrus followed, leaving a small distance between their bodies to stop him combusting fully. After a second of thought, he let his hand fall into the gap, palm up. An offering that would be as easy to accept as it was to refuse, and leaving both of their self-esteems intact if nothing happened. 

TJ didn't turn him down though.

He felt long fingers intertwine with his own, and then heard TJ shuffle a little closer, until their shoulders were pressed together. And as Cyrus watched the stars spin out across the sky, his heart dancing in his chest, he knew this night wasn't one he was going to forget anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof i hope the ending didn't seem too rushed, but i also didn't want to drag it out for too long. either way, i hope you enjoyed it xx  
aight that's all for now folks, but I'm reviving this blogs old tumblr, so come and scream at me about andi mack over there ([@baguetterights](https://baguetterights.tumblr.com/))


	3. The 1st to the 16th of November

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof so this is a bit later than i hoped. the last two weeks was really hectic (it was my birthday!! also i've been procrastinating a lot of college work) so i didn't get very much writing done. also i binged a load of shows and movies, so if anyone has netflix you should go watch no good nick. anywho, i hope you all enjoy this. it's not my favourite piece of work since i got pretty jumpy about getting it out already, and the start took a bit longer for me to push past writers block, but all in all i think it came out ok  
(and yeah, i wrote from the campfire scene on in a nostalgia fuelled late night extravaganza)
> 
> update 06/10/19: i'm halfway through writing the next chapter and i realised that i screwed up at the end. cyrus has astronomy on thursdays, not wednesdays, so i've made some minor changes. this really doesn't affect anything, and it's been over a month since i published this chapter (whoops) so you've probably forgotten, but i thought i'd let y'all know just in case

**1st November**

November dawned bright and clear.

Cyrus was woken up at daybreak - which wasn't all that early for a school day considering it was late Autumn - by a tiny golden bell that was now wrapped around his bed post. It rung melodically in his ear, but got more and more aggressively loud the longer he took to get up. When he was unable to take it anymore, Cyrus groaned and rolled out of bed, his feet hitting the floor just in time to stop his head smacking off the carpet.

The bell had been given to him by TJ when they parted ways the night before, a sort of gift to celebrate Cyrus starting the next stage of his animagus transformation. “I used it when I was learning to become an animagus.” The Slytherin had said, placing the small bell in Cyrus’ palm and curling his fingers around it. “It will alert you to when the sun is setting and rising so you won’t miss your spell, but only you will be able to hear it no matter how loud it gets.” And this had turned out to be both a blessing and a curse, because the ringing had no upper limit for how loud it could become. It would just keep climbing in decibels until you got up, or (according to a myth surrounding one very stubborn wizard) until it hit 185 dB and you died. Cyrus had originally been skeptical of this story, but from the incessant chiming he’d been treated to that morning, he was coming around to the rumour.

The reason for this was that the next step in the process was (like all the others) very precise. After creating the potion, the witch or wizard attempting to become an animagus had to wait for the next electrical storm, whenever it might be. In the time between, they had to incant the spell _ Amato Animo Animato Animagus _with their wand tip over their heart every dawn and dusk without fail. The next storm wasn’t close enough to be predicted yet, and so Cyrus was stuck with the world's most persistent (and apparently deadly) alarm clock for the foreseeable future.

Cyrus performed the spell after checking that the other boys in his dorm were still asleep. He placed his wand over his heart and whispered the words. “_ Amato Animo Animato Animagus.” _On the last syllable a soft blue glow lit up his chest, and he was flooded with warmth. For a split second he could have sworn he felt a second, amplified heartbeat. But it faded fast, and Cyrus decided that he may as well get ready for the day and head down to the Great Hall to wait for breakfast and Jonah. Although he was never awake early enough, he knew that Andi and Buffy often met up before breakfast to chat, since between meals students were permitted to sit wherever they wanted. 

He was proved correct when he entered the Hall. There were a few lone students dotted around, keeping to their house tables despite the relaxed rule, but his eyes were drawn to a pair at the head to the Slytherin table. Buffy and Andi were sitting opposite one another, their heads bowed close together as they whispered. Cyrus grinned and walked over to them. Although he didn’t mean to, he ended up startling the girls, as they were deep in conversation and didn’t notice his approach until he was right next to them.

“Bloody hell, Cy! Don’t scare us this early in the morning!” Andi hissed, clutching at her heart. Buffy was glaring at Cyrus and attempting to mask how quick her breathing had become, and Cyrus knew he was getting a lot of dirty look for disturbing the peace, but he was too busy dying of laughter to acknowledge them. Andi pulled him down onto the bench next to her. “You’re such an asshole sometimes.” Cyrus shrugged, calming down and taking back control of his breathing. “Well, now you know how it feels when people walk up on _ me _.” he replied, a little smug, and he earned a friendly elbow to the ribs for his contribution.

“What are you doing awake this early anyway?” Buffy asked as they leaned together again and resumed whispering. Cyrus blanked for a moment, trying to think of a good excuse, but his mind quickly offered one up. “Oh, I think it’s because I went to bed so early last night. I got all the sleep I needed, and now I’m ready to start the day. Actually, it’s quite nice not having Jonah nagging me, maybe I’ll start getting up like this every day.” He puffed out his chest, proud that he’d set up a good excuse for him being awake this early until- well, Merlin knows when. Buffy rolled her eyes. “Yeah right, let’s see how long this lasts for Mr Early Bird. Wasn’t it literally last week that you said that anyone who woke up before they were in imminent danger of being late should be removed from civilised society?” She smiled mockingly at him, and Cyrus stuck his tongue out in retaliation. “Yeah? Well remember how you and Marty went on a not-date in June and you floo-called me after to declare that you were never, ever, ever going to go out with him?”

Andi broke up the teasing before it could turn ugly. “Alright, let’s move on, shall we?” She phrased it like a question but her eyes said _ don’t fucking ignore me, change the subject _. Cyrus secretly agreed. He and Buffy had always had a very teasing relationship with one another, but sometimes it could turn bitchy pretty fast. It got especially nasty if a nerve was hit, or if they were already tired or moody. Despite what he’d told his friends, Cyrus had had very little sleep the previous night, and he didn’t enjoy being woken up by murder bells. He could also tell from the bags under his friends’ eyes that both of them had been up late with Halloween as well.

He and Buffy dropped it, and the three instead began discussing what Cyrus had missed from the night before. It didn’t take long before food began appearing on the tables and more students began filing into the Hall. They said their goodbyes, and Andi and Cyrus returned to their house tables. Libby was already there when Cyrus sat down, and she stopped eating to briefly let him know that Jonah would be down once he stopped fussing over his hair. 

**‘I don’t see why he doesn’t just use magic,’** She said, in between mouthfuls of toast. **‘It’s much quicker and you can hardly tell the difference.’ ** Cyrus grinned, remembering the numerous times he had gotten into this argument with Jonah in third year. **‘I’ll tell you, but you must promise not to say that I did.’** he signed back at her. Libby held out her pinky, and they hooked them together. Cyrus was fairly certain that there was no _ actual _ magic involved in pinky promises, but the little ritual always felt like a spell in itself. **‘When we were thirteen, he told me that he once accidentally made all his hair fall out by using the wrong spell. It was irreversible, and he had to wear a wig for ages afterwards. Now he can’t use any spells on himself, not even ** ** _episkey_ ** **.’ **Libby snorted, laughing silently at their friends misfortune, and Cyrus joined her in giggling. They had to stop abruptly when Jonah arrived, leaving him suspicious of them throughout breakfast. He watched them warily over his pumpkin juice.

The day went by uneventfully. He didn’t have DADA, which was currently the most exciting lesson, but he did have a free fourth period, since his final lesson of the day was Astronomy and that only took place at midnight. His third period lesson was Charms, one of the two classes with the Slytherins.

Cyrus was, like always, early to lesson. Buffy had saved him a seat, and he slid into it eagerly, earlier almost-argument forgotten completely and excited to catch up with what had happened in the long hours since breakfast. Jonah and Libby sat down on her other side, busy with a conversation of their own, leaving a couple of free seats to Cyrus’ left.

TJ was one of the last to enter the class, surrounded as always by his friends. Cyrus’ heart stuttered. 

This was the first time he’d seen the boy all day, and after last night he wasn’t sure what to think. On one hand, he didn’t think that anything would be different. They had been working together for a month, and TJ had never acted any different towards him outside of their meet-ups; that is to say, he hadn’t acted towards him at all, and had continued on as if Cyrus didn’t exist. And yes, the previous night had felt a bit more, well, _ intimate _than before. But that didn’t mean anything! It could all be in Cyrus’ head. TJ might lie side by side for hours watching the stars while holding hands with all his friends.

On the other hand, that sounded a little ridiculous and pathetic even in his own head. Something had _ definitely _changed between them. The question was whether or not TJ would act on it. Did it even matter enough to him to act on it publicly?

His questions were answered quickly. The blonde was conspicuously scanning the room, eyes darting back and forth until they caught on Cyrus’. TJ’s face relaxed into a smile, and Cyrus felt Buffy stiffen next to him. “Is TJ Kippen smiling at us? At _ you? _” She asked, tone confused and ever so slightly hostile. Cyrus flailed for a reason that a boy who - to Buffy’s knowledge - had never even looked twice at him would now be directing a hundred watt grin at him. He shook his head, mouth partly open, and shrugged. His eyes never left TJ’s.

The moment met a quick death in the shape of Kira. The girl had pulled sharply at TJ’s sleeve, yanking him into a seat by her, across the room from where Cyrus was sat. The Hufflepuff found himself relieved by this. He had seen a certain something it the seeker’s eyes that suggested he was about to cross the room and take one of the empty spaces by Cyrus, and as much as he liked his friend and enjoyed his company, he knew that that would not have ended well _ at all _.

With the connection between them broken, Cyrus could finally bring himself to turn to Buffy. She was staring at him with a deadpan look and a single raised eyebrow. _ Care to explain what that was about? _her expression asked, but Cyrus just smiled at her and busied himself with searching for his charms book. The Professor had just entered the room, and so Buffy was forced to turn to face the front instead of interrogating Cyrus like she would have otherwise done. 

He breathed a silent sigh of relief. He had been saved on this specific occasion, and hopefully Buffy would forget about this before he saw her again, but next time he may not be so lucky. He needed to talk to TJ, and get the story straight for if his friends ever got curious about why Slytherin’s star quidditch player was suddenly taking an interest in a Hufflepuff nobody.

* * *

**2nd November**

Cyrus didn't see TJ for the rest of the day, let alone get a chance to speak to him. 

Like he hoped, he managed to avoid Buffy until the following morning, by which point she had either forgotten the incident or decided not to bring it up until something more incriminating than a smile happened. Again, he woke up early, performed the spell, and sat with his friends at the Slytherin table. They still hadn't come up with a way for Buffy to ask Marty out, but it also seemed that they weren't quite lucid enough pre-breakfast to focus properly on plans. Cyrus was also a little too nervous to think much. Second period was DADA, the first time he would see Bex since he produced the patronus. It felt like such a long time ago that he had fought the dementor-boggart, could it really only have been Monday?

Charms went by way too quickly for his liking, this time with minimal mishaps. TJ had sat with Kira, he hadn't smiled at Cyrus, no Buffys were upset, and the hierarchical order of high school remained balanced. There was, however, a small and knowing glance shared between the two in a moment where no one was looking. It left Cyrus feeling warm. It was enough for him to know TJ wasn't ignoring him, but showed that he was perceptive enough to see that what happened yesterday was unacceptable until they came up with a solid excuse for there to be any form of open communication.

Defence arrived before Cyrus was ready for it. He dragged his feet and hung his head, causing Buffy to laugh over how he was acting as though she was walking him to his death. Deep down, he knew he was being a little dramatic, but in fairness his nerves had started acting up. Since knowing TJ, Cyrus had become a little more confident and had less anxiety over day-to-day activities. But this was different. This wasn't just any ridiculously hard DADA lesson. The whole of the school had heard about his show down with the creature in the forest, and how he was the first sixth year student to produce a corporeal patronus. Now the expectations on him were going to be astronomically high, and what if he couldn't live up to his newly gained reputation? What if he couldn't cast one now that he was out of imminent danger? What if the pressure got to him and he couldn't conjure up a happy enough memory for mist let alone his bird?

No amount of baby steps could prevent this from happening though, and all to soon Cyrus was in the DADA classroom. For once he was not the first person to arrive, instead getting there only moments before the time the lesson officially started. And he couldn't stop wishing that this wasn't the case; arriving last meant that everyone was already here to stare and gape as he entered. Merlin he hated it, and he tried his best to hide behind Buffy. Thankfully, Bex knew him well enough not to call him out in front of the whole class.

"Alright, if we're all here I'll get started. I think we've all heard about Monday night, so I won't say anything about it but this: it was an isolated incident, and I don't expect anyone here to be able to conjure a fully corporeal patronus yet. You're all miles ahead of where I thought you would be anyway, so I don't want any anxiety over it. This is insanely hard magic, and I will be surprised if more than a quarter of the class can produce anything more than semi-corporeal by the end of the term." And that was the end of it. The sixth years formed into a line in front of the cupboard, as was becoming standard, and Bex pulled Cyrus aside inconspicuously as they got started.

"I just wanted to say well done Cyrus. I'm very impressed by what I heard, although I wish it hadn't happened like that. I'm so sorry that the boggart got out, and we're working as hard as we can to figure out how it escaped and why it was down in Hogsmede." She looked over her shoulder to make sure none of the other students had noticed them talking, and then leaned a little closer to him. "Andi told me about her theory. I don't want to think about any of your classmates doing something so underhanded, but I also don't want to dismiss anything too soon. If something like this ever happens again, or you feel like you're in trouble, or if you get any idea who would do this and why, I want you to come straight to me ok?" When Cyrus nodded in understanding, she smiled and gave him a loose hug. "Good. I know I shouldn't show any favouritism as a teacher, but I think I can make an exception for a kid I've known for nearly his whole life. And I am really proud of you Cyrus for handling the situation, although I want you to know that it's fine if you can't do it again. There's no pressure." Cyrus smiled, some of the worry easing of his chest at Bex's words. "Thanks Professor." He joined the back of the line before anyone became aware of his absence. Buffy was waiting to ambush him there. "What was that about?" She whispered. "Just going back over Monday night. I think Bex is really stressed about the boggart on the loose." Cyrus said back, careful not to catch the attention of the other students.

The line moved forwards. Eventually Cyrus found himself standing at the front, the effect of the boggart taking hold of him as it focused itself. He found that he was no longer nervous, and he called to mind one of his favourite memories - a sunny day, hazy with the passage of time. The greenness of the world around him, the brightness of the sun, and the excitement of finally meeting other people like him. Two preteen witches talking circles around him like they’d known each other forever. Cyrus smiled to himself and stepped forward._ "Expecto patronum!" _It wasn't quite as defined as it had been on Monday, the lowered stakes taking off some of the pressure, but the outline of a bird burst forward. The class gasped as it slammed into the boggart, although it disappeared quicker than Bex's had. Cyrus felt pride swelling in his chest, and he made his way eagerly to where Buffy was standing. She was grinning madly, and she wrapped an arm around his neck, practically bouncing in excitement. "Dude that was amazing! I know I've seen you do it before, but still! Oh, and I got a better look at it this time. I think Libby was right, it looked kinda like Marty's eagle owl."

Cyrus had spent the last month having to come up with happy memories for homework, but in that moment he could have sworn he'd never been more ecstatic. the lesson only continued to get better. On the final turn of the lesson, three more people managed to get an outline of their patronus. Buffy once again pulled ahead of the rest of the class, the outline of a horse cantering across the classroom and scattering as it hit the far wall. Cyrus was surprised when Kira stepped forward and a faint form scuttled across the floor at the boggart. "I think it's a honey badger." Gus had whispered as the class looked on in begrudging awe. The final person who managed to get a first glimpse of their patronus was Libby, and what she conjured had everyone scrambling back from the space.

"Bloody hell, what is that?!"

"Is that a _spider?"_

The class watched in faint horror as the shadow of a gigantic arachnid ran at the dementor, and breathed a collective sigh of relief when it dissipated. Libby was grinning from ear to ear, and Bex looked as though she might genuinely explode with joy. "An Acromantula! Well _done_ Libby! I don't think I've ever seen an Acromantula patronus before." The blonde puffed out her chest in pride, marching round to the back to sweep her friends into a bone crushing hug. Despite his slight fear of her patronus, Cyrus was insanely proud of his friend, and he left the class feeling lighter than air.

* * *

**5th November**

The next time Cyrus saw TJ was Saturday.

He woke up at sunrise, performed the spell, and headed down to the Great Hall as was becoming routine. When he got there though, it was basically deserted. Cyrus groaned;_ of course _the hall was empty, it was the weekend and there was no need for anyone (bar himself) to be up before 10 at least. He turned back around, intent on going back to his common room to get a bit of studying out the way, when he heard someone calling to him. "Hey, Underdog!" There was only one person who called him that.

Cyrus spun round, his heart already fluttering, and sure enough it was TJ who was making his way up between the tables to where he was standing. He was smiling, an occurrence that seemed to be happening more and more frequently the longer Cyrus knew him, and he slung an arm around the Hufflepuff's shoulders when he reached him. TJ didn’t stop though, he kept walking out of the Hall, and Cyrus was dragged along with him as a result. They took their usual route down to the Black Lake, which was starting to become their place in Cyrus’ mind, and Cyrus took the opportunity to question TJ.

“Hey, what’s the rush? Why aren’t we in the Hall?” He shivered. He hadn’t expected to be dragged out to the grounds at seven in the morning, and so he wasn’t dressed appropriately for a walk in the freezing cold. TJ, who still had his arm around Cyrus, noticed his shaking and came to a slow stop. “Oh, sorry Cy. I forgot it was so cold out.” He lifted his scarf from around his neck and wound it around Cyrus instead, apparently wholly unaware of how the Hufflepuff’s heart had just started beating double time. TJ pulled back and ran his eyes over Cyrus scrutinizingly, his fist pressed against his mouth, before he nodded to himself and began shrugging out of his coat. 

“Woah, what are you doing? It’s freezing!” Cyrus exclaimed, but TJ had already finished pulling it off, and was now wrapping it around Cyrus’ shoulders. “I’m giving you my jacket, duh. You’re cold and I’m wearing too many layers anyway.” He stepped away and looked proudly at the finished result. Cyrus couldn’t help the way his face heated up, but he firmly insisted to himself that it was only because TJ’s coat was really warm. “You look good. Green suits you.” TJ said offhandedly, referring to his house-appropriate scarf, and Cyrus was fairly certain he was about to die on the spot. The whole interaction had been one cliché after another, and he was trying his best not to look too deeply into it.

“Thank you.” Cyrus said, smiling shyly, and TJ grinned back. He put his arm back around his shoulders, and the two walked for another couple of minutes before Cyrus remembered that TJ still hadn’t answered his question yet. “Seriously though Teej, why are we out here? Not that I don’t love walking round the lake with you, but we could have stayed in the hall.” 

“I wanted to ask you something.” TJ said, but didn’t elaborate in the seconds of silence that followed. Cyrus rolled his eyes and prompted him again. “Wanted to ask me what, TJ?” It was weird of his friend to avoid things. Apart from the mystery surrounding his animagus abilities, TJ was an open book and straightforward about the things that he wanted. Cyrus couldn’t understand why he would be holding back now - TJ didn’t exactly strike him as the type to get embarrassed or nervous about anything. TJ very pointedly did not look at Cyrus. “I wanted to ask if you had any plans for tonight.” He said, and there was an edge to his voice that Cyrus couldn’t quite place. 

As it was the 5th, the school had planned a small celebration. Nothing as grand as Christmas or Halloween, but there were going to be fireworks and there was a rumour about a giant campfire. Cyrus shrugged. “Not really. I think my friends and I are just going as a group. Why?” Cyrus wasn’t stupid. He could guess why TJ was asking him, but he didn’t really want to jump to any conclusions, and even if he was right he didn’t really understand why TJ would want to go with him. He had loads of friends, people he’d known the whole time he’d been at Hogwarts and some even before that. Why would he be interested in going with Cyrus instead?

TJ raised his free hand to rub the back of his neck. “Uh, I was just wondering if you would want to go with me. I mean, I don’t mind if you’d rather go with your other friends. Or I could tag along, y’know, if we come up with a good excuse for you knowing me and all.” Cyrus grinned, something clicking into place in his mind. “Wait, Teej. Are you nervous about this?” he asked, almost laughing out of the pure ridiculousness of the idea. TJ scoffed. “No!” he protested far too quickly, and the sudden blush that rose to his cheeks really didn’t help his case. Cyrus felt warm. It was nice, thinking that TJ cared enough about him to get nervous asking to spend time together. 

“Of _ course _ I’ll go with you.” Cyrus said, smile becoming softer as he stared at the other boy. TJ met his gaze, his lips quirking upwards to mirror Cyrus’ fond expression. “Great. We should think of something to say to the others. And then we can use it as an excuse to hang out together more often.” 

They had reached the lake now, and TJ pulled him over to a few large boulders to sit down on. His arm slipped from around Cyrus’ shoulders, but before he could become disappointed by the lack of contact, the blonde’s hand slipped into his own. Cyrus short-circuited, staring at their intertwined hands with wide eyes and a pink face. The feeling in his heart and stomach was the same as when they’d done this on Halloween, but there was something different about holding hands in broad daylight. In that moment, something about their relationship fell into a whole new territory, and all of a sudden Cyrus felt as though he was balancing precariously over uncertain waters. He wasn’t sure what they were teetering above, and he wasn’t sure what would push them over the edge, and he didn’t know if he even wanted to find out. Change was a big, scary monster, especially when it was so uncertain.

“Hello? Earth to Cyrus? Can you hear me up there?” 

Cyrus blinked, startling suddenly as he realised that TJ had been waving his hand in front of his face and looking at him with a mixture of amusement and confusion. Cyrus went red. “Sorry, I spaced out for a minute. What were you saying?” TJ raised a brow at him, but dropped the subject. “I said, do you have any ideas about what excuse we could make up?” Cyrus thought about it for a second.

“Umm. Are we taking any of the same subjects? We could say we’ve been studying together?” TJ nodded thoughtfully, and they both listed their electives. Apart from DADA and Charms, their only commonalities were Transfiguration, Herbology and the mandatory Flight class. Cyrus mentally crossed off flying, since he sucked at it and was planning on replacing it with apparation when he turned 17 in a month.

“Okay, are you any good at Transfiguration? I’m way behind in it, and I think Mack might just use me as guinea pig if I drop anymore marks.” Cyrus nodded. “Yeah, I’m alright at it. My average is an E.” TJ whistled, clearly impressed. “Damn Underdog, maybe you can help me with it for real after all this.” The combination of flattery, hand-holding and the pet name had Cyrus blushing and nodding quicker than light. 

After getting their alibi out the way, the two settled into a comfortable flow of conversation until the time came for them to head back to breakfast. Cyrus felt a twinge of disappointment when TJ let go of his hand before they entered the Hall, but he repressed it as best as possible. There was no point in getting his hopes up over what was probably just some platonic bro-hand holding thing. It wasn’t like he knew the intricacies of jock friendship, so it was probably something TJ did with Reed or Lester or whoever all the time.

The day passed by relatively quickly. He spent the first half of the morning studying in the library with Andi, Buffy and Jonah, which went well for about ten minutes before it became apparent that studying was just a cover for brainstorming ways to get Buffy and Marty together. They were eventually kicked out of the library, and so headed into the courtyard so they could practice producing patronuses. Cyrus’ owl and Buffy’s horse were becoming clearer with practice, and without the added fear element of the boggarts, Jonah managed to summon his for the first time. A large husky dog joined the other two, and they all cheered, hugging Jonah in congratulations. As for Andi-

_ “Oh my god, is that a fucking _ DRAGON _ ?!” _

A scaled down version of the beast circled the four, dwarfing them, before dissolving back into mist. They stared at Andi open mouthed, and the Ravenclaw failed in feigning nonchalance. 

After lunch the four joined up with Marty, Libby and Iris for three-a-side quidditch. Cyrus had no clue what was happening, but he cheered them on anyway and had fun just watching his friends as they <strike>messed around with the quaffle</strike> played. When they left the pitch to go in for dinner, they were frozen solid and falling over each other in laughter. Cyrus noticed Marty and Buffy hanging a little further behind the rest of them, and as they approached the castle, their hands twisted together. He smiled to himself, glad that the two had finally worked up the courage to acknowledge what had been hanging between them since day one.

Dinner was an exciting affair. It was earlier than usual to allow for the festivities to be set up, and the Hall was alight with the excited buzzing of students discussing their plans for the evening and speculations about the firework display. It took Professor Metcalfe several minutes to get them all to calm down and listen. 

"Tonight's firework display will be starting at nine pm tonight. That's in five hours time, but a bonfire will be set up by six for those who want to attend it. Any food should be provided for yourself, and although I am hesitant to permit marshmallows after last year's smore... incident, Professor Mack-Quinn has vouched in your favour. Marshmallows are allowed, as long as you also bring a kebab stick that is a minimum of three feet, which is the distance you are all expected to stay away from the fire."

The hall emptied out quicker than usual, students heading back to their dorms to get ready. 

Cyrus found himself sitting on his bed for a solid hour while Jonah picked endlessly at his hair and clothes. “Do I wear this shirt? The green really brings out my eyes. Oh, but what if it clashes with my scarf? I could always wear a different scarf….. Ugh, no! This one’s the warmest, and it’s my house pride one! Ok, what if I wear _ this _shirt, huh? Oh, but it’s not as nice as the green one... Ugh, I don’t know Cyrus, I just don’t!” He exclaimed for the seventeenth time, throwing the vast collection of shirts he was holding into the air. 

Gus, who had made the mistake of wandering into their dorm half an hour earlier to grab his gloves and was now trapped next to Cyrus, raised his hand timidly. “Uh, Jonah? If you’re wearing a coat, no one’s gonna be able to see your shirt…” Jonah stopped dead, his face contorting. For a second, Cyrus was hopeful that Gus had cleared the way to an escape from the clothing nightmare, but then Jonah shook his head and his hopes were crushed. “No, no, it’s the _ principal _of it.” 

Cyrus groaned and fell back on the bed. “Ugh, just wear the fucking green shirt Beck!” Jonah swirled around and glared at Cyrus. “Easy for you to say Goodman, you’ve had your outfit picked out since last week!” Cyrus blushed. This was true, but embarrassing to admit out loud. Sighing, Cyrus picked himself up off the bed, and stepped gingerly around the pile of clothes. He bent down and rummaged through until he pulled out the one he was looking for. Then he grabbed Jonah’s scarf and a pair of jeans that were not yet ripped, and turned around to throw them into his friend’s face.

“Here. The top compliments your skin without clashing with the scarf. Wear your grey coat with it, and we’re good to go.” Jonah stared at him incredulously. “Dude, _ why _didn’t you say this fifty minutes earlier?” Cyrus rolled his eyes. “I did, but you were too busy pulling every item of clothing you own out of your draws. Now go!” Jonah left, muttering under his breath, and Cyrus counted it a win. He looked down in resignation at the aftermath of Hurricane Jonah, and went back over to his bed to grab his wand.

“Uh, am I free to go now?” asked Gus, still sitting rigid. Cyrus nodded, and watched in amusement at how fast the other boy got out the room. In all six years of rooming with him, Cyrus didn’t think he’d ever seen Gus move so quickly.

Cyrus waved his wand over the pile of clothes, casting a packing spell and causing them to jump back into their draws and fold neatly up. Jonah reentered the room as it finished, and Cyrus took a second to congratulate himself on a job well done. The outfit was very similar to one that his friend used to wear a lot back in third year, a look that would stop Cyrus poor crushing heart. It was a lucky thing that although Jonah had begun updating his wardrobe (his fashion consciousness finally kicking in with age) he still had a lot of universal clothes that spanned the years.

Jonah smiled sheepishly at the look he received from Cyrus. His snark had worn off now that he had an outfit. “Thanks for clearing this up for me dude, and sorry for being such a diva.” he apologised, but Cyrus brushed it off. “It’s fine. I know I was ten times worse up until I started preparing in advance.” he said, pulling his friend out of the dorm and into the common room. Libby was in the middle of a conversation with Kaitlin when they got downstairs, but broke off to glare at them. **‘Seriously, could you ** ** _be _ ** **any longer?’**

They climbed out of the portrait hole and walked up to the Hall. Andi and Iris were sitting and chatting at the Ravenclaw table already, so the Hufflepuff trio walked over to join them. “Hey! Took you long enough!” Andi joked as they sat, and Libby gesture to Jonah tiredly for explanations. She and Iris snorted in laughter. “Sounds about right. But you missed Buffy though, she’s already gone to meet Marty so they can do some gross couple-y thing before they head down to the bonfire. They’ve only been together for a few hours and they're already sickeningly cute."

"Are they meeting up with us at the bonfire or is it a date-date?" asked Jonah, who was not-so-subtly attempting to sneak a chocolate frog out of Andi's bag. She slapped his hand away and pulled the snacks closer to her. "Nice try, but we're not eating anything until the bonfire. Also, what the fuck is a date-date?" Jonah shrugged. "You know, like an actual date. Not, like, double dates, or hanging out with your friends and partner at the same time." Iris frowned. "Double dates are real dates. Didn't we go on a double date together once?" 

Cyrus intervened before they could go too far down the rabbit hole. "Back to the original question, are they meeting up with us later?" Iris turned to him and shook her head. "Nah, didn't seem like it." Cyrus felt guilty about the tiny spark of relief he got at her words. Although he loved spending time with Buffy, and was disappointed he wouldn't see her tonight, she had been his main worry with introducing his friends to TJ. While the others didn't really have an opinion on him either way, the chaser actively disliked him and Cyrus _ really _wanted tonight to go well.

"Oh ok. Speaking of who's coming and going though, is it alright if TJ joins us for the bonfire?" The group went dead silent, the mini argument between Andi and Jonah pausing so they could whip their heads round to stare at Cyrus with incredulous gazes. "TJ…...Kippen?" Andi asked, voice halting and high pitched. "TJ as in Amber Kippen's brother? As in the star of the Slytherin quidditch team? The one in our year? Amber's twin?" Her voice became more demanding as she continued to list things, leaning closer to Cyrus. Jonah poked her shoulder. "You asked that twice." Andi ignored him and kept on. "Tall, blonde seeker? That TJ?" Cyrus sighed. "Yes, that TJ."

"Huh." Andi sat back. Iris piped up. "I don't have a problem with it, but how do you even know TJ?" Secretly, Cyrus was very glad she asked. He had been looking for an excuse to slip their excuse into the conversation. "Oh, I've been helping him with Transfiguration. Y'know, since I'm getting an E and all." Libby tilted her head. **'Why does he want to come to the bonfire with ** ** _us_ ** **?" **

"Why _ wouldn't _ he want to come to the bonfire with us? We're great." Jonah joked, but he backtracked quickly at a look from Libby. "Uh, I mean, yeah. He doesn't know us." Cyrus shrugged. "Not sure. We've been spending a lot of time together lately though. We're friends, I think, so when he asked, I said yes." Thankfully, the group seemed to accept it and move on after that. Cyrus deflated as their attention moved on to newer topics; he hadn't been expecting the whole inquisitorial squad act.

After a while, Cyrus felt something land on his shoulder. He turned his head and came face-to-face with a little paper peacock. He smiled and lifted up his hand, watching as the bird strutted into his open palm and then unravelled itself. Cyrus had missed passing these little notes between them, and he felt warm as he scanned the note.

_ 'Nearly ready, send it back with where you're at' _ Cyrus scribbled his location down underneath, and the second he lifted his hand from the paper it shook itself back into shape and took flight. He turned back to the conversation at hand, currently a debate over the latest episode of a wizarding radio drama edition of EastEnders. Jonah was howling over how "Stacy was totally valid in using _ petrificus totalus _on Ashton!" when Cyrus felt someone sit down next to him and brush their fingers against his own.

"Hey Underdog." TJ grinned, voice a little quieter than usual in an attempt to avoid drawing attention to his arrival. He was unsuccessful, as four pairs of eyes snapped to him immediately, Iris' counter-argument breaking off. There was a moment of awkward silence, and Cyrus felt his heart falter. 

"TJ, what's your opinion on Stacy Blake?" Andi asked, and the spell was broken. The Slytherin responded enthusiastically to the opener. "Oh my god, she was _ totally _ right…" apparently, he also shared Jonah's opinion on her, and the six of them launched back into conversation. Cyrus shot Andi a grateful look, mouthing a silent ' _ thank you' _. She winked at him, and turned back to Libby.

Half an hour flew by. Cyrus felt like he'd hardly had time to blink between TJ arriving and Iris standing up to lead them down to the bonfire. Cyrus was ecstatic over his friend’s quick acceptance of TJ, and watched fondly as the Slytherin talked animatedly with Jonah about the Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw game last month.

The bonfire was happening on the opposite side of the lake from the castle, so it took a while to walk to it. About halfway there, TJ fell back to walk in step with Cyrus, switching out with Iris who had been discussing the importance of bowtruckles with him. The seeker had apparently caught the end of the conversation, and cocked his head at Cyrus. 

“What’s so great about bowtruckles? I thought all they did was gouge people’s eyes out.”

Cyrus gasped dramatically, staring at TJ as if though he had just kicked a puppy. “What? Did you not pay any attention in third year Care of Magical Creatures? What you just said is basically magizoologist blasphemy.” TJ snorted and wrapped his arm around Cyrus’ shoulders, an action that was becoming surprisingly familiar. Cyrus felt the beginnings of a blush creeping up on him, and quickly launched into what was basically a mini lecture on the tree-guardians. 

He talked for near enough the entire rest of the way, although he didn’t really expect TJ to be listening to him; more than anything it was a form of revision to help him remember the facts for his end of term exams. So when he looked back over at the blonde as they got nearer to the fire, halfway through an explanation about the current research into bowtruckles favouring certain species of woodlice over others, he was startled to find the boy looking back at him attentively. Cyrus voice faded out as he took in the soft curve of TJ’s mouth and the surprising tenderness of his gaze. His face was so openly caring in that moment that Cyrus felt as if he was no longer actually awake. Surely there was no chance in real life that TJ would ever take down his defences so completely, and definitely not for Cyrus.

TJ’s brow creased as Cyrus stared at him. “Why did you stop?” he asked, voice quiet but still somehow drowning out the chattering of his friends up ahead. “Oh, uh, sorry. I just realised that I’ve totally been monopolizing the conversation. I’m probably boring you.” TJ shook his head adamantly. “No! I mean, I don’t fully understand what you’re talking about but you’re just so enthusiastic, y’know? I can tell you really care about it, so it’s nice. Also, it’s cute that you keep using such big words.”

Cyrus blushed furiously, stuttering and fumbling. “I- wh- I’m not using big words!” he gasped. TJ laughed at how flustered he was. “You totally are. You just used ‘monopolizing’ in an actual real sentence.” Cyrus groaned. “Ugh, I probably sound really pretentious.”

“Hey, there’s another one! I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say the word ‘pretentious’ out loud before.” 

Cyrus batted at the arm around him, ignoring how TJ laughed at his antics. He couldn’t believe what was going on here: how had lecturing TJ over bowtruckles turned into what was essentially flirting? How had using his extensive vocabulary resulted in being called- wait a second. “Did you call me cute?” Cyrus asked, brain just catching up. TJ’s laughter ended abruptly, choking off as he whipped his head round to stare at Cyrus, his face turning rapidly pink. “I- uhh- yeah I- you only just caught that?” How did TJ manage to turn the question on its head like this? 

They were both saved by the bell. Or rather, by Jonah. And thanks to his phrasing, ‘saved’ was a pretty strong word for it.

“Hey lovebirds, what you whispering about?” he asked, popping up between them. Cyrus had never seen TJ move as fast as he did pulling his arm away from Cyrus’ shoulders in that moment. They spluttered, unable to say anything in the moment, but Jonah moved past it unfazed. He started talking about - well, about _ something _ \- but Cyrus was too caught up on the whole ‘lovebirds’ thing. Is that what it looked like from the outside? If someone as oblivious as Jonah could catch onto his pining, and read the feelings he had for TJ, so could anyone. Could they see how much he cared for his friend, how strongly his feelings had grown over that last month? Could TJ?

All of a sudden he felt a desperate need to escape the situation. 

But what could he do? They had arrived at the bonfire now. It was gigantic, pretty much every student and staff member of the school milling around a pit that was easily 30 feet in diameter, and the flames were towering over them, leaping up into the sky and showering multicoloured sparks. The fire was cycling through the rainbow like some sort of LED display, and while it was very cool, it was also the last place he wanted to be in that moment.

As though she had read his mind, Cyrus suddenly found his arm linked with Andi’s. “Hey Cy.” she said with a crooked smile. “You feeling ok?” It sound light and unassuming to the average passer-by, nothing to call attention to. But Cyrus could hear the undertones of worry, the unspoken promise of _ if you need to leave I’ll get you out _. He very nearly took her up on the offer.

Having her by him had stabilized him to an extent. He arm grounded him, reminded him that there was a world outside his head. He saw his friends, laughing and joking, caught a flash of worry on TJ’s face as his eyes darted over him, and decided that he would be ok. He was going to stay here, and he wasn’t going to let his probably over-dramatic and unrealistic worries stop him from having a nice night out with his friends.

“Yeah, I’ll be good. Just needed to get out of my brain.” His tone was joking, but Andi understood.

Cyrus found he was glad that he stayed. Once he got over his freak-out, he migrated naturally back to TJ’s side. The blonde didn’t put his arm back around him like he usually would have done, clearly sensing that something was a little off, but his fingers brushed the back of Cyrus’ hand, a clear invitation. He was grateful for it, and hooked their pinkies together for a moment, before letting go and chasing after Jonah, who had stolen the snacks off of Andi.

The atmosphere around the fire was intoxicating. Cyrus found himself talking to just about everyone he came across, whether he’d spoken to them before or not, whether they were in his year or another, whether he had ever even seen them in the castle before. They joked and conversed like old friends, sharing easily with one another. Even Jonah was affected, and relented his control over the food.

Just before the clock struck eight, someone by the edge of the fire struck up a song. The tune was familiar, but it wasn’t until someone else started putting words to the whistling that he realised it was one of those old Celestina Warbeck songs that were a classic in the Hufflepuff common room.

_ ‘You charmed the heart right of me, to my whole life you hold the key. You cast your spell and suddenly, I cannot forget you!’ _

And just like that they had started up a campfire karaoke. The students cycled their way through a few more of her bigger hits, before shifting on to some wizarding campfire songs that Cyrus was unfamiliar with, although it seemed he wasn’t the only one. While kids like Andi and Iris, who were pure blooded, were singing enthusiastically, he noticed that most of the muggle-born population, and some of the half-bloods like Jonah, who had grown up with a degree of separation to magic were simply watching. This dynamic shifted when a call went up between them, feet stomping and hands clapping in a familiar and addictive rhythm. Now it was the wizard-raised kids watching it fascination (and mild horror at the bumblebee song) as the muggle-borns volleyed songs back and forth to one another. With some, like Queen, they got the gist fairly quickly, but none of them seemed to know what to do with songs that didn’t rely on repetition.

Eventually, the singing died down. It had reached nine, and they began to disperse from the fire, fanning out along the bank to sit in the grass, eyes to the sky. Cyrus’ small group migrated over to the line between the grass and pebble shore, most of them sitting cross legged at the edge. Cyrus and TJ hung back a little, sitting a few feet behind them. It was the first chance they'd really had to be together since the walk down, but for once Cyrus didn't feel all that nervous. Something about tonight had relaxed him, and he felt nothing but warm tranquillity as he fell back against the grass. TJ lay down next to him, a little more hesitant than he had been on Halloween.

The sky above them was black and dotted with stars, but they could still see the hazy glow of the fire in their peripheral vision. The chatter of the students had died down to a low muttering as they waited for the fireworks. Cyrus turned his head to the side to study the blonde boy next to him. TJ was really pretty, all smooth skin and high cheekbones, and eyes so piercingly green that even when they weren't looking at him Cyrus felt as if they were going right through him. As though feeling his gaze, TJ also turned to face him. Cyrus became sharply aware of how close they really were, barely a hairs breadth between their lips, and by the way TJ's eyes darted down and up, he could see it too. If he moved, just the tiniest amount forward, they would be- 

The sky above them exploded into light and the moment ended with it. Their heads snapped up to watch the display, the twisting shapes of the fireworks above them providing a sufficient distraction from what had just nearly happened. But even though the show was as breathtaking as ever, Cyrus still couldn't pry his thoughts off a green eyed Slytherin lying just inches away.

* * *

**16th November**

They didn't address Bonfire Night, but for completely unrelated reasons they now saw each other constantly .

With Winter getting ever closer, Cyrus now had to perform the animagus spell in the room of requirements, where TJ would usually be waiting for him. They would head down to breakfast together with linked hands, and part at the doors to go sit with their respective groups. If they passed each other in the corridors, it was with yelled greetings or quick bro-hugs, and TJ would always say hi before taking his seat in shared lessons. It was only a mixture of Buffy's clear uncomfortableness and Kira's possessiveness that stopped the two sitting together as well. 

Cyrus had tried to broach the subject with Buffy on multiple occasions, but every attempt was shot down. "I'm fine, seriously. I may not like him, but that's my problem. You're allowed to have friends Cyrus." She would say, and while he agreed with her, he didn't quite believe her. Buffy was his best friend, and so he knew that she had issues with TJ. But until she told him what the problem was, there wasn't really much he could do about it. He was grateful that she wasn't making a huge fuss over it though. He knew that if this had happened a couple of years earlier, she might have given him some sort of ultimatum, and although he would choose Buffy every time, he really didn't want that kind of drama.

TJ also reminded him about Transfiguration. He had meant it when he said he was starting to fail, and Cyrus thought it was a good idea to actually put their alibi into practice, so he didn't fell like such a liar around his friends and definitely for no other reason. And so every other evening he found himself in the library, sitting at a small table in the back for an hour or two with TJ, desperately trying to keep their laughter to a minimum to avoid the comically stereotypical librarian Madam Devlin. 

TJ turned out to be a much better tutor-ee than Cyrus had initially expected. He thought that it would be impossible to get him to focus on the work at hand, but while the Slytherin often made Cyrus laugh with his sarcastic wit, he didn’t take his help for granted. This didn’t stop him from complaining though.

“I don’t get what you don’t get about it Teej.” Cyrus said one night, two weeks after their arrangement began. He threw his hands up in exasperation, accidentally launching his quill at some poor fourth-year's head. “The formula is perfectly simple, and I must have explained it a dozen times already!” he whispered, after apologising to the girl and picking it back up. “It’s just too _ scientific _ .” TJ whined back, his head firmly planted on the desk. Cyrus rolled his eyes. “Yeah, ok. How does someone who’s not only taking Potions as a NEWT, but also fucking _ Alchemy _ get to complain that basic Transfiguration methods are ‘too scientific’?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

TJ lifted his head to look Cyrus dead in the eyes. “I don’t know, man. It’s different with Potions. I can just _ feel _ what I’m doing. It’s like, the instructions don’t need to make sense, because they don’t mean shit. I _ know _ what I’m doing, like, fucking _ instinct _ or something. But with Transfig,” he sighed. “It’s just- it just doesn’t add up in my head. I see all the parts separately, but they just don’t come together.” Cyrus frowned, noting this for later. He had begun to suspect over the past few weeks that TJ might have a problem with numbers, but his adeptness at Potions had kept his suspicions at bay. Now that he had told Cyrus that Potions was more a natural skill, he was going to look into it.

He glanced absent-mindedly at the clock on the far wall, and then did a double-take at the time. "Oh fuck! I've got to get back to my common room, I've got Astronomy tomorrow night, and there's no way I'm going to the top of the castle's tallest tower running on, like, three hours of sleep." TJ pulled a face. "Ew. I'm so glad I dropped Astronomy, I really don't miss standing at the top of the tower in the freezing cold at midnight." Cyrus laughed, pushing his chair under as he started packing up his things. "Yeah, well at least I get free fourth periods three days a week." TJ looked pityingly at him. "Still don't think it's worth it. Good luck up there tonight Underdog, there's supposed to be a serious frost." 

Cyrus was about to head out of the library when something caught his mind, and he circled back to the table. "Oh yeah, there's going to be a electrical storm next week. I think it's on Wednesday, but I'll have to double check. Either way, do you want to meet up at the lake, say about midnight?" He asked, and TJ nodded. "Sure, it's a date." Cyrus grinned. "Cool. Catch you later Teej!"

It wasn't until he was halfway back to his dorm that the wording finally registered with him. He stopped and went bright red, and for the rest of the night all he could focus on was the lilt of TJ's voice as the line '_It's a date__' _looped on repeat in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aight, so: patronuses. all of my choices literally took so long, i got absorbed into researching the different meanings of animals. For buffy i chose a horse, since the most common meanings i found for them are freedom, power/inner strength and loyalty, which i think is pretty accurate here. for kira, honey badgers came up when i was looking for animals to represent ambition, but also when i searched them separately, they also are used as a nickname for tough athletes. andi has a unique and fiery personality, so dragons seemed like the obvious choice. libby was a bit more difficult, but i settled on acromantulas. spiders symbolise creativity, so i went for the giant magical version of that. and jonah - all i have to say is that i came across 'would rather hang with friends playing frisbee' for husky and i though "oh fuck yeah". so yeah, these are the reasons for my choices. i do already have cyrus/tj's patronus and animagus meanings sorted, but i'll probably include those when all four are revealed xx


	4. Interlude: Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> andi and cyrus have a heart-to-heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> something to tide you guys over while i finish up with the next chapter. i know it's been too long since the last time i updated, but hopefully you guys will like this and not mind that the main plot doesn't really move forward here.
> 
> (and in a shameless plug, i say come and complain to me about this on my tumblr [@baguetterights](https://baguetterights.tumblr.com/))

**17th November**

Thursdays were fairly uneventful periods in Cyrus' week, and by that it means that he didn't share a single lesson with TJ.

Sunrise was at half seven now, getting precariously closer to lesson starting times, and so he had resorted to performing the spell in a small closet outside the Hall rather than going all the way to the room of requirements. It had been a bit of a last minute decision, and he’d had to send a note to TJ telling him to go to breakfast first so that the other teen didn’t end up waiting for Cyrus and missing out on the meal. 

The day passed in a slow and lazy manner, with all his lessons focusing on reviewing previous work instead of doing anything new. Fourth period was a free for him, since astronomy classes were midnight escapades, so he took himself down to the Black Lake to study. And by study, he definitely _did_ _not _mean think about TJ and his pretty eyes and pretty hair and pretty smile and-

_ Fuck! _

Cyrus really couldn’t help it though. The Black Lake, while having always been one of his favourite places on the grounds, had merged in his head into The Official Cyrus-and-TJ Spot. And it was especially hard to focus on school work when the scenery was summoning to mind the past month and a half of- of flirting? 

Is that what it was? What happened when the two of them were down here after dark, and lying close enough to feel the distance between them like an ache? What happened when the two of them walked through the forest together, and TJ felt comfortable enough, trusted Cyrus enough, to stay in his animagus form for hours at a time? When the two of them met up in the library, and giggled and studied and tried to avoid the wrath of Madam Devlin? And so many other things: holding hands as they walked to breakfast, sharing looks over the Hall like they were having silent conversations, sending notes and inside jokes and quick heartbeats and shortened breath and-

Cyrus slammed his history book closed, and focused on getting his suddenly wild breathing back under control. He knew his cheeks must be glowing brighter than beacons, he could feel the heat in his face, and he was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude for the universe that he was alone, that most other students were back in the warmth of the castle studying. He counted to ten, and then groaned, burying his head between his knees. He knew exactly what it was that had bought this little outburst about.

Last night. 

_ ‘It’s a date.’ _

Everything had been going fine before then. Sure, Cyrus had still been ever-so-slightly smitten for TJ Kippen, but he’d had it under control! He knew with dead certainty that there was no way TJ would ever like him back, and that had been that. But then he’s had to go and say it. That stupid line. 

It had been the straw that broke the camel's back, in a sense. Before, Cyrus was able to ignore and brush off the constant touchiness, the shared glances, the wide-eyed look he would sometimes catch TJ giving him. It hadn’t been easy, absolutely not, but he’d been able to do it, somehow convince himself that TJ was always like this. 

But now- now something had tipped in his brain. The knife point their relationship had been balancing on had fallen into a dangerous sort of terrified hope. Cyrus didn’t think that TJ went around to all his friends calling meet-ups ‘dates’, and that along with everything else was giving him doubt about what the seeker really wanted from their relationship. 

Before his mind could bury itself even further, a hand landed unexpectedly on his shoulder. Cyrus jerked backwards, arms flailing as he tried to turn and face the newcomer. He heard a laugh, bright and familiar, and his limbs dropped down as his head rolled back to peer up at his friend.

“Andi? What the fuck?” he asked with no real heat. He was a little embarrassed by his reaction to her sudden appearance, but he’d done worse in front of her in the duration of their six year friendship. She sat down next to him on the grass, grinning, and he felt his heart ease up. Andi always managed to make his worries seem smaller.

“Sorry Cy, I didn’t mean to scare you. Ok, well maybe a little,” she relented with a snicker under his disbelieving stare “but what are friends, eh? Gotta keep you on your toes!” She seemed especially happy today, Cyrus noted. Not that she wasn’t usually a bright spirit, just that there was something more to it today, something different about the crease of her smile or the look in her eyes. 

“So, what you doing out of lesson Mack?” he asked, settling against her side. She hummed noncommittally. “Oh, Coleman was ill, so we got to leave early. Lucky right? I really hope we get tomorrow's lesson off to, it’ll feel great to sleep in on a Friday for once.” Cyrus nodded. Their conversation wound on for a little while, sharing anecdotes from the day, opinions on lessons and teachers, hopes about what they would be having for dinner that night. Halfway through Andi’s rant about her second period Defence lesson with her mom (“_God _Cyrus, it was so embarrassing, I swear she does these things on purpose!”) he remembered something that had been bugging him earlier.

“Hey, Andi?” He asked, cutting her off. She paused mid-word, and turned her head to catch his eyes. “Yeah? What’s up Cy?” 

“Where were you earlier? I mean, you didn’t come down to lunch?”

She surprised him by blushing hard. Andi didn’t go red very often, and he’d definitely never seen her turn this startling shade before. “Oh! Uhhh.” She ducked her head, and he could see her desperately searching for an excuse. “I uh- I was at the- I mean, I went to-” Her voice was high pitched, shaky and unlike anything Cyrus had ever heard from her before, so far from her usual energetic confidence. 

He cut her nervous rambling off, placing a hand on top of hers and squeezing gently. “Hey.” He said softly, trying to calm whatever sudden panic had come over her. “You don’t have to tell me, you know? I was just asking because I was curious, but if you’d rather not say then no pressure.” She looked up at him and tried to smile, a little guilty at being caught out in a truly awful attempt at lying.

She sighed defeatedly, closed her eyes and lay back on the grass. Cyrus stayed sitting. “I want to tell you. I really, _ really _want to. You’re my best friend and I hate keeping secrets from you, but-” she lifted a hand to scrub sharply at her face, and Cyrus realised with a jolt that she was trying to keep from crying. He lay down next to her hurriedly, wrapping an arm around her, and Andi turned inwards to bury her face in his hair. She had always been a little taller than him.

He could feel her shaking, but she wasn’t crying. She was close, but Cyrus knew she despised showing any sign of sadness in open places, so he rubbed her shoulders comfortingly until the shuddering subsided. She left her face in his hair though, and after a moment began to talk. He could feel her mouth shaping the words against his skin better than he could hear them.

“I was with Amber. Kippen. I spent lunch with Amber Kippen.” She whispered.

For a moment Cyrus’ blood ran cold. Amber Kippen. Amber Kippen, who had been the school’s designated ‘mean girl’ for their first four years at Hogwarts, and then switched for no obvious reason to the Pride of Gryffindor when they were 15. Amber Kippen, who had caused drama for his friends at every turn in those early years. Amber Kippen, who had made Andi cry, and had gotten her in trouble with the ministry on two separate occasions. Amber Kippen, the aloof pureblood who had never so much glanced in their direction since. Amber Kippen, Hogwarts’ most promising DADA student. Amber Kippen, TJ Kippen’s twin.

“Amber?” He whispered, forcing the cracked word past the lump in his throat. He felt her nod, her arms squeezing a little tighter around him like she was afraid he would get up and leave her. It made his heart hurt, and his brain snap back to reality. Andi was scared, and he needed to help her.

He wriggled, trying to get her to loosen her vice-hold just enough for him to look her in the eye. Andi relented at his resistance, and the two of them were soon rearranged, lying facing one another on the grass, legs hooked together but torsos apart to for a wonky ‘V’. Andi’s eyes were wet, her brow furrowed, and Cyrus balked at the idea that she was scared of him. Of his reaction.

“Hey. Andi, it’s alright. I’m not mad or anything, promise. I’m just- I don’t know. I’m confused. She was _ awful _ before. Do you remember the drama with Jonah? The time she got you in trouble with the ministry? The _ other _time she got you in trouble with the ministry? Shit, I thought you were going to throw up when that Auror arrived-” Andi bit her lip, eye’s not meeting his, and he backtracked. “I mean, uhh. Well. Amber isn’t really that bad anymore I guess. But I don't understand. She hasn’t even _looked_ at us since the end of fourth year.” 

Andi sighed, looking up to catch Cyrus’ gaze. “I know, I know. It’s just- well, I don’t know. We got partnered up for a project in charms. And she’s- she was such a good partner, so smart and funny and nice. She even apologized for all that shit she did before, like properly, and we- I don’t know. The project finished, but I didn’t want to be finished with her. And neither did she, apparently.” Andi rolled slightly, so that she was looking up at the sky. Her eyelashes were dark and clumped together slightly, but the red was starting to fade from the rims of her eyes. 

“I know what she did was bad. And I know that just apologizing, after such a long time, it shouldn’t begin to cover it, and she knows that too. But she meant it, she really did. I could see it. And she’s working, she’s working so hard to try and make it up to me. And I-” her voice cut out suddenly, throat working like she was holding back a sob. “I think I like her, Cyrus.”

The revelation didn’t really come as much of a shock to him. Sure, it was a little bit weird that Andi, of all people, would like Amber, of all people, but. Well. The speech, the near-tears, the initial reluctance; it all had begun to add together in Cyrus’ head. He was not nearly as oblivious about things when it came to other people’s relationships, and it had been becoming clearer and clearer over the past ten minutes that Andi was harbouring _ something _. Maybe her awareness of the crush was a little surprising to him, but ultimately he wasn’t all that startled by her admittance. And he could certainly understand the allure of a Kippen.

He held out his hand to her, and she took it gratefully. “It’s ok, Andi. I get it.” _ More than you know _muttered a voice in the back of his head. She smiled at him, something small and tight but infinitely better than the fear from before. “Thanks, Cyrus. I was so scared you’d hate me for this. I know you aren’t exactly Amber’s biggest fan, and it’s not just me that she messed with back then.” Cyrus snorted, shaking his head. “Hate you? Andi, you couldn’t make me hate you if you tried. And yeah, while I’m not jumping at the thought of you getting with Amber… if she really has changed, and she really will make you happy, I think I could get used to the idea.” She laughed at that, squeezing his hand and then pulling him into a slightly uncomfortable hug. 

“Do you think Buffy will? Hate me?” She whispered after a minute, good humour drained from her voice and replaced with her earlier nerves. Cyrus hesitated. At heart, he knew that Buffy would always love Andi, no matter who the older girl decided to see. The three of them were soulmates in the most platonic way, and they needed each other as much as they needed food or air. But he also knew that Buffy could get angry, and she could say things she didn’t mean. He knew she had a temper hotter than the sun and more pride than all the lions in Africa, and no matter how much she did or didn’t mean to say it in those outbursts, there was almost no chance of her apologizing for her words.

And Andi was certainly right about not being the only person Amber had hurt.

“No, no, I don’t think she will.” He finally answered, but they both knew he was just saying it to make her feel better. Andi fidgeted, and then went limp with a sigh. “God, I feel so guilty. And I know I should tell her, especially after she told us about Marty and everything, but. I just. I don’t think I could stand it. If she hated me, you know?” And Cyrus does know. Buffy gone- the thought is too painful to try entertaining. And fuck, he hates keeping secrets, he really does, but at this point what’s one more to the pile? 

“I think maybe you should wait to tell her. At least, until you and Amber are on the same page you know? Definitely don’t date her until you’ve tried to get the two of them to make up, but also make sure Amber’s even an option before you risk it.” He hated himself for saying it, but Andi was nodding and he knew he was right. No matter how it turned out for Andi and Amber, there was no avoiding the inevitable drama that was going to come from this. Both Andi’s feelings and his own were going to change the trio’s relationship in some way, but he could only hope it would turn out for the better.

Cyrus sighed, shaking off the morbid train of thought. He clung tighter to Andi, and she reciprocated, arms holding him close. But they were like a puzzle with missing pieces, a machine with absent cogs, an ecosystem disrupted. Buffy’s absence hit them harder than ever, like something was pressing down on their throats and cutting away at their hearts, and no matter how hard they hugged one another, the sense of something missing would not go away. Andi shivered and pressed her face once again into his hair. “Love you Cyrus.” She whispered, and he felt incomplete. 

“Love you too, Andi Mack.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eye-
> 
> wow ok i did not mean for it to turn out this angsty at all but, well, here we are. as you can probably tell, i am having a lot of feelings about the ghc right now and i miss them very much. they're dynamic was always so cute, but that beautiful speech buffy gave her mom about how the three of them are an ecosystem- i think it's influence is fairly obvious here.
> 
> anyway, i hope you enjoyed this even if it is very late and very little. come party with me over on tumblr ([@baguetterights](https://baguetterights.tumblr.com/)) because not nearly enough people are sticking with andi mack now that we're past the two month mark of the show ending (i'm also guilty of this to an extent, but in my defence it and the goldfinch came out basically at the same time and it's too much for my poor gay brain, and hey i'm still here technically)

**Author's Note:**

> okie dokie, i really hope y'all like this, because i'm so hyped to write it. The fic will span about 3 months (October, November, December) so I'm guessing that there will be about 6 chapters, but don't quote me on that.
> 
> also, i'd just like to say that i'm honestly so blown away by the response to aftermath. i really wasn't expecting it, especially not in just a couple of days, but it's so encouraging and inspiring, and i'm genuinely so grateful to everyone who has read/commented/left kudos. thankyou all so much xx
> 
> (come scream about andi mack with me on the newly revived blog [@baguetterights](https://baguetterights.tumblr.com/))


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